Abel Hall LLC Acquires New Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their target price 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 raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $129.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $125.26 and a 200-day moving average of $122.59. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 4.17%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.