Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $12.62 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,176 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $12,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,987 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $155.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $158.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.