Short Interest in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Decreases By 19.1%

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,210,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the December 15th total of 11,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.35.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $121.88. 5,165,969 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,837,312. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.50 and a 200-day moving average of $121.19. Philip Morris International has a 12 month low of $87.82 and a 12 month high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $189.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

About Philip Morris International

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.