Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

PM has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.5 %

PM stock opened at $146.58 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $125.66 and a 200-day moving average of $124.06. The company has a market cap of $227.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $146.78.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 9.24%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,886,818,000 after purchasing an additional 621,034 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,070,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,422,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,615,449,000 after purchasing an additional 190,201 shares during the last quarter. 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.