Philip Morris International’s (PM) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $200.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $181.50 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $164.18 on Thursday. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $142.11 and a 1-year high of $191.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $169.27 and its 200 day moving average is $163.99.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.13. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 142.02%. The company had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Philip Morris International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.510 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.88%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.18, for a total transaction of $14,574,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,200,429.92. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.61, for a total transaction of $6,138,418.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,868,125.43. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PM. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 101,377,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,262,967,000 after acquiring an additional 12,227,004 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,559,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,751,407,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013,173 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 132,355,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,230,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,579,399 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,301,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,491,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,475,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1,547.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,260,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,002 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.