Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Free Report) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $170.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $130.00.

PM has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.17. 6,151,069 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,561,723. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.82. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $94.42 and a 1 year high of $171.73. The company has a market cap of $263.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 111.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $298,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 15.4% during the first quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 95,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 11.7% during the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 3.8% during the first quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.