Baillie Gifford & Co. Grows Position in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Philip Morris by 59.3% in Q4, adding 11,445 shares to hold 30,741 shares worth about $4.93 million.
• Company insiders trimmed positions: CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares (~$14.57M) and CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares, cutting their holdings by 11.23% and 17.05% respectively.
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target near $195.72; Philip Morris pays a $1.47 quarterly dividend (≈3.7% yield) and issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of 8.380–8.530.

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,741 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 490,590 shares of the company's stock worth $89,354,000 after acquiring an additional 5,681 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 549,481 shares of the company's stock worth $84,922,000 after acquiring an additional 51,399 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 10.2% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 302,173 shares of the company's stock worth $49,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,979 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.2% in the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 132,295 shares of the company's stock worth $21,458,000 after acquiring an additional 31,490 shares during the period. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 53.0% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,772 shares of the company's stock worth $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 9,622 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Key Philip Morris International News

Here are the key news stories impacting Philip Morris International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PM announced a $50 million investment to open a business solutions center in Tampa, Florida, expanding U.S. operations and signaling continued reinvestment and cost/consolidation benefits. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Philip Morris will serve as Principal Partner of Ferrari Hypersail, reinforcing its brand partnerships and innovation narrative (helpful for investor perception around transformation away from combustible tobacco). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A comparative piece argues Philip Morris is executing a credible transformation vs. Altria, framing PM’s dividend and strategic story as more sustainable — a narrative that can support investor confidence. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: PM appears in broader coverage of “cash‑producing” stocks; these pieces can drive retail interest but don’t add new company‑specific catalysts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Needham cut its price target from $205 to $200 but kept a “buy” rating — a modest downgrade that still implies meaningful upside but contributes to near‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its price target to $195, another analyst trim that adds to downward pressure on the stock amid profit‑taking and re‑rating risk. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Philip Morris International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.72.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $159.48 on Wednesday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.11 and a 1-year high of $191.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.91. The company has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 130.95% and a net margin of 12.09%.The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.