Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 45,000 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 70.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. FMR LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.80.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.