Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 3,004 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,004 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,932,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,454 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 161.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,636 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,554 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,367,000 after acquiring an additional 992,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PM. UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE PM opened at $129.06 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $200.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.27 and its 200 day moving average is $122.42.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 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.