Philip Morris International Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 268,100 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,084% compared to the average volume of 12,274 call options.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.4 %

Philip Morris International stock opened at $152.12 on Friday. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $159.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.95. The company has a market capitalization of $236.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 18,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.