Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 752 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841,696 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after buying an additional 4,869,272 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,684 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock opened at $120.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $188.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.23 and a 52 week high of $128.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.25.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.47%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.01, for a total transaction of $2,260,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,906,095.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.