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

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $108.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.68% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock opened at $96.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.18. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $100.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm 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 9.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total value of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,860,113.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 5,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $457,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,412,880.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,128 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,495,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869,272 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 33.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,147,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,587,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,089 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,575,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,732 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $282,785,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,311 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.