Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $158.85 and last traded at $158.78, with a volume of 5457599 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $246.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.18.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total value of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 128,143 shares of company stock valued at $19,092,846. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 504.9% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.