Stifel Nicolaus Raises Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Price Target to $115.00

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Free Report) had its target price upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $108.00 to $115.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a buy rating to a sell rating and dropped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.4 %

Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,572,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,755,332. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.10. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $100.79. The firm has a market cap of $153.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.