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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.20.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:PM opened at $178.23 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.39. The stock has a market cap of $277.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $98.93 and a 52 week high of $178.70.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PM. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,828,000 after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 9,789 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,966,000. Hedge funds and other 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.