Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Given New $115.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $108.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 17.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PM. UBS Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Societe Generale raised 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. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $97.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.10. Philip Morris International has a 12-month low of $87.23 and a 12-month high of $100.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 13.6% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 444.5% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 37,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 30,970 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 328,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,424,000 after purchasing an additional 28,470 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 2,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in 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.