Simmons Bank Sells 150 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Simmons Bank decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 21,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,000 after buying an additional 5,031 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 33,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 120,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,367,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PM shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.51. The company had a trading volume of 3,960,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,724,651. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $100.70.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.