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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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 cut their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 457.5% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 203.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2,709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,406,765. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $125.67 and its 200-day moving average is $121.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 6.51 EPS for the current 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 $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 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.