Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Short Interest Down 16.9% in November

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,330,000 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the October 31st total of 10,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 15.6% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 17.5% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 67.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 39,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,968,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PM opened at $133.06 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.77. The company has a market cap of $206.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.