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

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $170.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $264.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.90 and its 200-day moving average is $138.96. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $95.88 and a 1-year high of $172.03.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 19,986.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,486,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,210,000 after buying an additional 4,464,590 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 372.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,303,000 after buying an additional 4,298,530 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.