Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 530,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,828 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 1.9% of Associated Banc Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $63,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after buying an additional 18,183 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 equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $151.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $139.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.08. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.