Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Trading Down 0.1% - Should You Sell?

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) dropped 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $162.93 and last traded at $163.65. Approximately 1,161,783 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,373,522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group upgraded Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $255.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $159.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.57.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock worth $18,906,185. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 475.5% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,325,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,557 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 12,626 shares of the company's stock worth $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 16,870 shares of the company's stock worth $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.6% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 82,550 shares of the company's stock worth $13,103,000 after purchasing an additional 11,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 385.8% during the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 57,683 shares of the company's stock worth $9,123,000 after purchasing an additional 45,808 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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