Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 30,792 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 923,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,792 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Philip Morris International worth $111,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 79,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,582,000 after purchasing an additional 4,416 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 3,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $343,000. First American Trust FSB increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 31,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,769,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 10,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:PM opened at $151.66 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.