Philip Morris International Inc. $PM Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 157,063 shares and ending with 7.65 million shares valued at about $1.23 billion.
• Philip Morris International reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.83 estimate and revenue of $10.15 billion, up 9.1% year over year.
• The company continues to support shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, equal to a 3.1% annualized yield, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $192.56.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,645,673 shares of the company's stock after selling 157,063 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.49% of Philip Morris International worth $1,226,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,911,835 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,714,674 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,301,112 shares of the company's stock worth $1,491,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,475,204 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1,547.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,260,217 shares of the company's stock worth $362,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,002 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 67.3% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 4,614,443 shares of the company's stock worth $748,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PM opened at $189.26 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $168.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.23. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.11 and a 1 year high of $193.05. The company has a market capitalization of $294.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.37.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.13. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.61% and a negative return on equity of 142.02%. The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Philip Morris International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.510 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PM. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $181.50 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.56.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report).

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.