Brokerages Set Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Price Target at $131.50

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.50.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 24.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 153,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,587,000 after acquiring an additional 30,177 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 12,581 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $122.02 on Friday. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The firm has a market cap of $189.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.58 and its 200-day moving average is $119.76.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.