Certuity LLC Sells 536 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Certuity LLC reduced its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Bluesphere Advisors LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 2,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $94.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $100.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.12 and a 200-day moving average of $92.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 9.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.48%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,339,528. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.