Philip Morris International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 265,612 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,300% compared to the average daily volume of 11,066 call options.

Institutional Trading of Philip Morris International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,000. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the third quarter worth $33,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 115.3% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 28,709 shares during the period. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PM. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of PM traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $162.78. 1,753,121 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,178,230. The company has a market capitalization of $253.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.85 and a 200 day moving average of $164.06. Philip Morris International has a 1-year low of $116.12 and a 1-year high of $186.69.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.52%.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.