Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.80.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $123.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.98. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $123.45.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PM. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,495,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869,272 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,311 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Company 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.