Philip Morris International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 153,116 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,361% compared to the average volume of 10,478 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter worth $25,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PM. Barclays lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded down $0.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,800,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,354,031. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.