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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 21,907 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 90% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,524 call options.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its position in Philip Morris International by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM traded up $12.52 on Thursday, reaching $143.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,139,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,180,503. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $146.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.17 and its 200 day moving average is $123.46. The stock has a market cap of $223.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.55.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. UBS Group raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

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.