Latitude Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Latitude Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $287,000. McBroom & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 376.2% in the fourth quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 13,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 28,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $146.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.06. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $146.78. The company has a market cap of $227.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued 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%. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.35.

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.