Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Philip Morris by 36.3%, buying 2,475,204 shares to own 9,301,112 shares (about 0.60% of the company) valued at roughly $1.49 billion.
• Company insiders sold shares recently: CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares and CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares (reducing their holdings by 17.05% and 11.23%, respectively), leaving insiders with about 0.13% ownership.
• Philip Morris declared a quarterly dividend of $1.47 (annualized $5.88) for a yield of 3.7%, with an ex-dividend date of March 19 and payment on April 13.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,301,112 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,475,204 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.60% of Philip Morris International worth $1,491,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 143,468,448 shares of the company's stock worth $23,270,582,000 after buying an additional 611,393 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 128,776,327 shares of the company's stock worth $20,887,743,000 after buying an additional 2,714,674 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 89,150,871 shares of the company's stock worth $14,461,220,000 after buying an additional 882,885 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.2% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 43,546,533 shares of the company's stock worth $7,063,263,000 after buying an additional 2,911,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,701,879 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,645,000 after buying an additional 401,381 shares in the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $181.50 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $196.28.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 0.5%

Philip Morris International stock opened at $160.40 on Friday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.11 and a 12-month high of $191.30. The stock has a market cap of $249.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.95.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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