Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 153,116 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,361% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,478 call options.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $122.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.10.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

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.