Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.50.

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $121.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $188.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.27.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,774,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,406,000 after purchasing an additional 85,043 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $226,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at $209,000. American Trust bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.