Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.35

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share on Monday, January 13th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%.

Philip Morris International has raised its dividend by an average of 2.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 17 consecutive years. Philip Morris International has a dividend payout ratio of 76.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Analysts expect Philip Morris International to earn $7.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 75.6%.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $127.00. 4,464,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,340,373. The company has a market capitalization of $197.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The company's fifty day moving average is $127.18 and its 200 day moving average is $117.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.