Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Stock Price Down 0.9% - Time to Sell?

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $170.33 and last traded at $170.39. 787,947 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 5,543,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 $264.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $158.92 and a 200 day moving average of $141.12.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 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. Waycross Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter worth about $257,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,545,811 shares of the company's stock worth $562,827,000 after acquiring an additional 873,202 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management grew its position in Philip Morris International by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 4,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.5% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 21,914 shares of the company's stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 6,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

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.