Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Short Interest Down 22.5% in March

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,280,000 shares, a drop of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 17,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.24. 2,345,803 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,467,843. The company has a market cap of $242.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.66. Philip Morris International has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Lars Dahlgren sold 3,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.96, for a total transaction of $562,739.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,103,610.88. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,495,308.62. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,432,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,780,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,810 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 122,584,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,866,678,000 after buying an additional 6,092,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,286,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,837,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185,258 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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.