AlphaQuest LLC Sells 10,163 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,163 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $151.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $136.06 and a 200-day moving average of $129.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The stock has a market cap of $234.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid 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 3.57%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,795,295.48. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International 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.