Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $189.5556.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 target price on Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of PM stock opened at $150.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43. Philip Morris International has a 12-month low of $116.12 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $156.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.09.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 106.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 41.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 100,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,248,000 after buying an additional 29,105 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,282,000. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 59.8% in the third quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 15,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after buying an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.