Sapient Capital LLC Acquires 16,334 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 146,272 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,334 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $17,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 84.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 42,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,155,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of PM opened at $146.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $146.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.06.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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%.

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.