Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PM. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $149.94 on Monday. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $150.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.24% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after buying an additional 6,721,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

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.