Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM)

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PM. Citigroup raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $121.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.05.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 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.