StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on PM. Societe Generale started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. They set a sell rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a neutral rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $109.73.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $94.79 on Thursday. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $82.85 and a 1-year high of $109.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $100.69 and its 200 day moving average is $96.75.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.54 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 127.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be paid a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 22nd. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.36%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total value of $887,070.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,627.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at $101,057,266.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total transaction of $887,070.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,835,627.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 117,064 shares of company stock worth $11,738,763 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,480,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,997,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451,582 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,951,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,379,979,000 after purchasing an additional 962,801 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,777,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,868,937,000 after purchasing an additional 389,746 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,403,883,000 after purchasing an additional 411,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 22.7% during the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,468,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,944,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,558,762 shares during the last quarter. 75.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.