Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PM opened at $121.45 on Friday. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15. The firm has a market cap of $188.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.23 and a 200-day moving average of $119.27.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% 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 made changes to their positions in PM. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth $25,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.