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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 21,907 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 90% compared to the average volume of 11,524 call options.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 316,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,451,000 after buying an additional 20,494 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 3,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the period. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 5,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 25,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Philip Morris International stock opened at $145.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $146.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.46.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.