Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.35 Per Share

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share on Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Philip Morris International has raised its dividend by an average of 2.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Philip Morris International has a dividend payout ratio of 73.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Philip Morris International to earn $7.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 73.1%.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 1.1 %

PM traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $123.89. 580,965 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,279,238. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.41% and a negative return on equity of 113.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total value of $2,260,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% 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.