Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 7,012 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 308,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,012 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $37,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 291,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,509,000 after purchasing an additional 64,742 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Philip Morris International by 168.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 9,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 5,748 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $128.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $200.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $126.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.27. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. 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 4.19%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate 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.