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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 10,282 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,564 call options.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PM stock opened at $94.07 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $100.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.06.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 103.59%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at $882,050.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.69, for a total transaction of $181,380.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,050.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Massimo Andolina sold 8,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.63, for a total transaction of $772,447.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,860,113.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,250 shares of company stock worth $1,411,128. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,772,000 after acquiring an additional 13,416 shares in the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 147,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,655,000 after purchasing an additional 7,726 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 50,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 20,918 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the third quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 354,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,825,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Club Bank GFN boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 77,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after buying an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PM. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

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.