Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Stock Holdings Decreased by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 271,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110,128 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 3.7% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $25,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PM. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,587,542,000 after buying an additional 4,304,089 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Philip Morris International by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,940,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,520 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its position in Philip Morris International by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,110,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,841,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,246,000 after purchasing an additional 958,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Societe Generale raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:PM traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $99.03. 13,572,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,755,332. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.15. The company has a market capitalization of $153.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $100.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 103.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% 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.