Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.67, for a total value of $1,486,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,795,295.48. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 6.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 0.8% in the fourth 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 period. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 valued at $14,752,926,000 after buying an additional 4,216,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,711,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,237,000 after buying an additional 224,840 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 48,746,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,866,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,558 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0 %

Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,541,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,155,565. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.14. The company has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53. Philip Morris International has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $159.51.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PM. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

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.