Vestcor Inc Sells 2,661 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Vestcor Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 63,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,661 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PM. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 worth $1,121,932,000 after buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted 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 worth $235,936,000 after buying an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $235.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.92 and its 200 day moving average is $129.73.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.