Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM)

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 114,602 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 999% compared to the average volume of 10,426 call options.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.61, for a total transaction of $6,138,418.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 164,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,868,125.43. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.18, for a total value of $14,574,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,344 shares in the company, valued at $115,200,429.92. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,205,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM traded down $6.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,662,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,441,156. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $176.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.23. Philip Morris International has a one year low of $142.11 and a one year high of $191.30. The firm has a market cap of $258.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.38.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 130.95% and a net margin of 12.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Philip Morris International has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.800-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.380-8.530 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 80.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PM. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, February 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.83.

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.