Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $148.53 and last traded at $148.17, with a volume of 4989453 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $146.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $233.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $126.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company's stock worth $6,715,237,000 after acquiring an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock worth $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. 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.