Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Citigroup from $163.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.70% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barclays increased their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.78.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.7 %

PM stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.14. 316,519 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,544,592. The company has a market cap of $250.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.16. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $88.43 and a 1-year high of $163.08.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PM. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,995,000 after buying an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Kelly Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.9% in the first quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 542,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,111,000 after purchasing an additional 35,561 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 13,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.