Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:PM opened at $119.78 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $125.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.05. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The stock has a market cap of $186.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PM. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

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.