Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Shares Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) was down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $163.68 and last traded at $164.40. Approximately 1,021,774 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,572,265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $166.33.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $261.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.73.

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

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total transaction of $1,486,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,822 shares of company stock valued at $18,906,185 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 93.2% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 50,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,941,000 after acquiring an additional 24,130 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.5% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 73.4% in the first quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 214,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,979,000 after buying an additional 90,591 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 62.6% in the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 2,669 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the first quarter valued at about $238,000. 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.