Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Reaches New 12-Month High at $100.74

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $100.74 and last traded at $100.64, with a volume of 23768 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PM. UBS Group lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $155.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.90.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 101.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total transaction of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,250 shares of company stock worth $3,339,528 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,556,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,511,292,000 after buying an additional 481,636 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,192,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,732 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,089 shares during 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.