Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Upgraded to “Buy” at Argus

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $151.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 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.