Essex Savings Bank Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Essex Savings Bank trimmed its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 7,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 90,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares during the period. Rockingstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth $2,843,000. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.80 and its 200 day moving average is $121.07. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.