Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Research analysts at Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.68% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PM. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.20.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $174.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.13. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $98.93 and a 52-week high of $176.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 140,621,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,320,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,283 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after buying an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 26.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,840,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,466,730,000 after buying an additional 4,563,632 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.