Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Short Interest Update

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,210,000 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the December 15th total of 11,390,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

NYSE PM opened at $118.45 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.