Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $5.59 Million Stock Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,107 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PM. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Philip Morris International by 3,553.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,125,000 after purchasing an additional 201,294 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $692,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.85.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM opened at $128.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.44. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15. The company has a market cap of $199.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $974,850.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International 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.