Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,679 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $31,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,416,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,495,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869,272 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the fourth quarter worth about $282,785,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 5,045.1% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,122,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,472 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.14.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $121.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.92. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.23 and a 12 month high of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.47%.

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.