Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Upgraded at Argus

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports.

PM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.56.

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Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $154.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,509,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,145,461. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $159.51. The firm has a market cap of $240.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $139.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.19.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 547,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,752,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 period. Hedge funds and other 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.