Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 125,073 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 20.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 482,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,073 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up about 1.3% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $78,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,018,555,000 after buying an additional 2,235,380 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,831,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,243,429,000 after acquiring an additional 871,165 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,181,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,760,346,000 after acquiring an additional 672,983 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,230,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.9% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 10,676,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,585,000 after acquiring an additional 782,536 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $158.76 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.12 and a 1-year high of $186.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.27 and its 200 day moving average is $162.44. The company has a market cap of $247.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.40.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.52%.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.