Brokerages Set Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Target Price at $139.56

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.22.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $522,214,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 372.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,453,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,303,000 after buying an additional 4,298,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $151.68 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $152.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted 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%. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 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.