Violich Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,876 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up approximately 1.2% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 buying an additional 3,363,454 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the third 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays cut 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $146.58 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $146.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $125.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

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.