Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Philip Morris International reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $214.35 after previously closing at $208.50.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 10 Buy ratings and two Holds; Citigroup and Barclays raised their price targets to $225, while the consensus target is $209.70.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.36 in EPS and $11.44 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.60, equivalent to a 3.1% annual yield.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $214.35 and last traded at $210.4730, with a volume of 220,866 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $208.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Philip Morris International from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.70.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $326.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.34. The business's fifty day moving average price is $193.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.71.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.32 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.73% and a negative return on equity of 183.96%. Philip Morris International's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a $1.60 dividend. This is an increase from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 30.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,669,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,111,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755,662 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,662.6% in the 2nd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,885,000 after purchasing an additional 63,317 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,205,000. Finally, Addison Capital Co boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 31,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,254,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc NYSE: PM is a global tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. It was established as an independent company in 2008 following the separation of Philip Morris International from Altria Group. The company develops, manufactures and markets tobacco, nicotine and other related consumer products primarily outside the United States.

Its portfolio includes internationally recognized cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street.

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