Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Receives $144.56 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.56.

PM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’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 value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PM. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $151.95 on Thursday. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $139.10 and its 200 day moving average is $130.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.