Aviance Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,741 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1,685.7% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.51. 3,960,335 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,724,651. The company has a market capitalization of $151.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $92.76 and its 200-day moving average is $92.38. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale upgraded shares of 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 restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

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.