Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total transaction of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

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.