Occidental Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Occidental Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 5.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after buying an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,396,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,746,000 after purchasing an additional 125,919 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,126,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,963,000 after purchasing an additional 77,820 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,311 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.22.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $101.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.94. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $104.90. The firm has a market cap of $157.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.58% and a negative return on equity of 113.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.