17,838 Shares in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Bought by Tandem Financial LLC

Tandem Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,000. Philip Morris International accounts for 2.3% of Tandem Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position 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 valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after buying an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $145.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $146.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.