Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 45,000 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 70.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $2,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 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 increased its position in 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 buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after buying an additional 2,785,987 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PM opened at $154.27 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.09 and its 200 day moving average is $130.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% 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.