Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $11.87 Million Stock Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 752 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $11,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 283.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,186,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,583,000 after acquiring an additional 876,790 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter worth about $5,634,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 6,974 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $857,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,087,000 after buying an additional 26,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PM shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.05.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $120.96 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.23 and a 1-year high of $128.22.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 113.32% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This is a positive change from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 105.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Massimo Andolina sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.35, for a total value of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,877,305.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Wilde Frederic De sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 158,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,906,095.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,038,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,877,305.15. 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.