Analysts Set Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Target Price at $144.56

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.56.

PM has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.27 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.80. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $239.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,838,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 351,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,297,000 after purchasing an additional 52,433 shares during the period. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $957,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.