Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 8,830 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 7.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,830 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $13,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,908,000 after buying an additional 5,841,696 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 79.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Philip Morris International by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,517,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,864 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,192,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total value of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total value of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.3 %

PM stock opened at $128.59 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.82 and a 52-week high of $134.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.44. The firm has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. Philip Morris International’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. This is a boost from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.85.

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.