Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,000,570 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.84% of Philip Morris International worth $1,560,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PM. 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.2% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,214,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,347,016. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.60. The company has a market cap of $196.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.