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

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw a large 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. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,674,681.94. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised 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 buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position 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 worth $447,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $151.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,541,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,155,565. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.10 and its 200-day moving average is $130.14. Philip Morris International has a 12-month low of $87.82 and a 12-month high of $159.51. The company has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

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.