Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 2,508 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,508 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for 1.0% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $205,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,276,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,262,000 after acquiring an additional 516,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 7.2 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $150.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.35. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 30,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.85, for a total transaction of $4,465,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 139,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,705,779.25. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.