Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 2,577 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 34.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,577 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PM. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 65,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after acquiring an additional 20,527 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 73,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,906,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $779,000. CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 47,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,442,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $297,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $101.59. 1,933,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,418,975. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.39. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $104.90. The company has a market cap of $157.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

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.