Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 760,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,151 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $92,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PM. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.7% in the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 17.9% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 68.0% in the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 20,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 8,455 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $130.56 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $126.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.06. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.82 and a 1-year high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid 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 was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% 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.