New York Life Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,587 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $19,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.5% during the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 542,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,215,000 after purchasing an additional 28,333 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth about $240,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 104.6% in the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,880,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.05. The company had a trading volume of 6,462,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,762,755. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $100.70. The firm has a market cap of $149.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.83% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PM. UBS Group downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. Insiders own 0.14% 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.