Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $118.96, but opened at $123.32. Philip Morris International shares last traded at $127.52, with a volume of 1,825,027 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PM. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.95.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 8.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $199.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.83.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,906,095.47. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,908,000 after buying an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,684 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,472 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. 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.