Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.35 on January 13th

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share on Monday, January 13th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th.

Philip Morris International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 17 consecutive years. Philip Morris International has a payout ratio of 75.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Philip Morris International to earn $7.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 75.6%.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $123.78 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $128.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.83. The company has a market cap of $192.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.