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

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a 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 suggests a potential upside of 18.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.07. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after purchasing an additional 224,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,101,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,818,000 after buying 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 valued at $2,812,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721,094 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,560,752,000 after acquiring an additional 376,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,655,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,767,000 after acquiring an additional 736,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.