South Dakota Investment Council Decreases Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $13,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 27,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,513,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $446,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.9% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 22,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $1,680,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total transaction of $457,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.66. The company had a trading volume of 13,103,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,646,268. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.10. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $100.79. The company has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.40.

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.