Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Barclays

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $145.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised 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 report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $154.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.29. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $158.39.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is 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.