Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Reduces Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT reduced its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 13,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Ardent Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ardent Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covey Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.22.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $154.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $240.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.36. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $154.64.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.