Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $189.00.

PM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 price objective on Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 2.9%

PM stock opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $241.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.52. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $116.12 and a 1-year high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 106.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 24,968.0% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 11,275,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,041,223,000 after buying an additional 11,230,626 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.2% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 43,546,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,063,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911,835 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 128,776,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,887,743,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,674 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,857,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,018,555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 67.3% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 4,614,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.