Short Interest in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Decreases By 28.1%

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,160,000 shares, a decline of 28.1% from the January 15th total of 9,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, 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 transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,117,354.12. The trade was a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 71.4% in the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after buying an additional 201,294 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price 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, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.56.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $150.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,082,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,379,126. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.89. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $150.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 9.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given 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 3.58%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.