Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Short Interest Up 21.7% in October

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,020,000 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the October 15th total of 8,230,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM stock traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $128.59. 9,055,777 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,415,458. Philip Morris International has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $134.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $124.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.21. The stock has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on 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 company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.85.

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.

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