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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.05.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.8 %

PM opened at $120.96 on Thursday. Philip Morris International has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $128.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $117.57 and its 200 day moving average is $104.25. The company has a market cap of $188.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% in 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 period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is 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.