Associated Banc Corp Sells 6,828 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Associated Banc Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 530,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,828 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 1.9% of Associated Banc Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $63,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,105 shares in the company, valued at $20,705,779.25. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $151.95 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.10 and a 200-day moving average of $130.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

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.