Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Equities researchers at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.0 %

PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.07. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PM. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after acquiring an additional 621,034 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 40.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,168,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,000,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,752,000 after purchasing an additional 376,406 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after purchasing an additional 736,961 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.