ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,430,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,957,000 after purchasing an additional 469,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $121.88 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The firm has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.47.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.