Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $16.13 Million Holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 134,045 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,420 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $16,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 8.6% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.8% in the third quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of PM opened at $156.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.81. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.82 and a 1 year high of $156.63.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 120.08% and a net margin of 7.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 40,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.06, for a total transaction of $6,058,245.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 561,349 shares in the company, valued at $83,674,681.94. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,143 shares of company stock worth $19,092,846. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PM. StockNews.com lowered Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Philip Morris International from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.22.

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.