Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.27 Billion Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,802,736 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 268,026 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.50% of Philip Morris International worth $1,265,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 6,274.1% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Philip Morris International by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 122,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,939,000 after buying an additional 7,937 shares in the last quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the third quarter worth approximately $1,591,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 23,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 8,856 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 40,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,442,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.50 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.83.

Insider Activity at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.18, for a total transaction of $14,574,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,200,429.92. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.61, for a total transaction of $6,138,418.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,868,125.43. This trade represents a 17.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $173.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.37 and its 200 day moving average is $164.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.38. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.11 and a 1 year high of $191.30.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 12.09% and a negative return on equity of 130.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Philip Morris International has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.800-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.380-8.530 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.88%.

Philip Morris International Profile

Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.

PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.