Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) Short Interest Update

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,280,000 shares, a drop of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 17,140,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $2.70 on Monday, hitting $157.86. 886,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,453,663. Philip Morris International has a 52 week low of $87.82 and a 52 week high of $159.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.19. The firm has a market cap of $245.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.87, for a total value of $5,954,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 547,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,495,308.62. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock valued at $19,655,585. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.