Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% in 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 last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after acquiring an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PM opened at $149.94 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $150.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $126.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.54.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.