Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,579 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 1.4% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $18,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 8,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 8,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 13,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PM. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $126.48 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The company has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.77.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.