Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 35.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,748 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PM. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:PM opened at $144.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $146.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.44 and a 200 day moving average of $123.61.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio 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.