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

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.50.

PM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $130.99 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $125.74 and its 200 day moving average is $115.99. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth about $263,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.