Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock.

PM has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:PM traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $119.86. 5,022,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,541,859. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $125.80 and a 200 day moving average of $121.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 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 Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 57.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,241,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,121,932,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,454 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 161.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,943,460 shares of the company's stock worth $235,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,636 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 14,611.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,173,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 13,666.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 999,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,367,000 after buying an additional 992,467 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is 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.