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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,140,000 shares, a growth of 78.7% from the February 13th total of 9,590,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,103,610.88. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,674,681.94. The trade was a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.95. 5,541,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,155,565. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $159.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $139.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.14.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

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.