Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

PM has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $205.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $185.18 on Friday. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $99.86 and a twelve month high of $186.69. The stock has a market cap of $288.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.65.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.43% and a negative return on equity of 122.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PM. Real Talk Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,364,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,560,000 after acquiring an additional 231,082 shares during the last quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 39,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,207,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth $1,587,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 405.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during 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.