Griffin Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,456 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,018,555,000 after buying an additional 2,235,380 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,831,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,243,429,000 after acquiring an additional 871,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,181,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,760,346,000 after purchasing an additional 672,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,230,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 7.9% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,676,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,585,000 after purchasing an additional 782,536 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.00.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM opened at $161.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.42. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.12 and a 52-week high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%. Equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 106.52%.

Philip Morris International Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.