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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 265,612 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,300% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,066 call options.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $162.78. 1,753,121 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,178,230. The company has a market capitalization of $253.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $153.85 and its 200-day moving average is $164.06. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $116.12 and a 52-week high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.14% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 490,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,354,000 after purchasing an additional 5,681 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 295.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 67,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,333,000 after purchasing an additional 50,610 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,138,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,014 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 732.3% during the 2nd quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 42,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,801,000 after buying an additional 37,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 6,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.