Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,592,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,338,851. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.23 and a one year high of $109.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.33 and a 200 day moving average of $96.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Philip Morris International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,205,859.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,583,000 after acquiring an additional 876,790 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,634,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $857,000. Finally, AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 78.63% of the stock is 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.