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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 10,282 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,564 call options.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total value of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. UBS Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.3 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $94.07 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $100.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.06. The firm has a market cap of $146.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The business had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.59%.

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.