Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 196 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hills Bank & Trust Co trimmed its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA increased its position in Philip Morris International by 79.9% in the 4th quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 14,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. First National Trust Co increased its position in Philip Morris International by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 64,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,775,000 after buying an additional 15,362 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.14. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.