Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 106,738 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 52.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,816 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,738 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $121.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.19. The stock has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company 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%. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.