Philip Morris International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 153,116 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,361% compared to the average daily volume of 10,478 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,806,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,354,199. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $128.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Sachetta LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

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.