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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 153,116 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,361% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,478 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,125,000 after acquiring an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth $692,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,614,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 182.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.7 %

PM stock opened at $122.91 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $191.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.08 and its 200-day moving average is $118.96.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

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.