Emmanuel Babeau Sells 30,000 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.39 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.45. The company has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $154.64.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.