ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:PM opened at $121.88 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.47. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

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.