Empirical Finance LLC Lowers Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $6,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:PM opened at $144.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.87. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $146.78. The stock has a market cap of $224.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

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.