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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PM shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective 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 issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

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

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Philip Morris International by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.8% in the third quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 2,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Bluesphere Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $97.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.46 and a 200 day moving average of $92.10. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.23 and a fifty-two week high of $100.79.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is 103.59%.

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.