Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 11,935 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the average volume of 8,065 call options.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $101.20 on Friday. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $87.23 and a 52-week high of $104.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.26% and a net margin of 8.58%. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $1,928,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,205,859.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,495,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,821,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,575,742,000 after buying an additional 3,121,732 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth $282,785,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,439,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,104,000 after buying an additional 2,123,311 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.22.

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.