Wall Street Zen Upgrades Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) to “Buy”

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

PM has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Philip Morris International to a “moderate buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE PM opened at $178.23 on Thursday. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $98.93 and a 1-year high of $178.70. The company has a market capitalization of $277.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.76.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total value of $562,739.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This trade represents a 12.06% 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. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 115.0% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.