Investors Purchase High Volume of Philip Morris International Call Options (NYSE:PM)

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

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $115,200,429.92. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.61, for a total value of $6,138,418.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 164,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,868,125.43. The trade was a 17.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. AG Campbell Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1,677.8% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 96.5% in the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.7%

PM stock opened at $163.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.23. The company has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.38. Philip Morris International has a twelve month low of $142.11 and a twelve month high of $191.30.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 12.09% and a negative return on equity of 130.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $181.50 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.