Strs Ohio Purchases 110,781 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Key Points

• STRS Ohio increased its stake in Philip Morris International (PM) by 23.2% in Q4, purchasing 110,781 shares to hold 589,079 shares worth about $94.49 million.
• PM beat expectations for the quarter with $1.96 EPS vs. $1.83 expected and $10.15 billion in revenue (up 9.1% y/y), and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 8.360–8.510; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $192.56.
• Senior insiders sold stock: CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares and CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares in February, each reducing their holdings by double-digit percentages.

Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 589,079 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 110,781 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $94,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the company's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 2,662 shares of the company's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 9,249 shares of the company's stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Sather Financial Group Inc boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 4,693 shares of the company's stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PM. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated 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 cut their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.56.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:PM opened at $166.60 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $167.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.12. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.11 and a twelve month high of $191.30. The stock has a market cap of $259.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.13. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 142.02% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The company's 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 research analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Philip Morris International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Philip Morris International news, CFO Emmanuel Babeau sold 33,800 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 164,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,868,125.43. This trade represents a 17.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 11.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

About Philip Morris International

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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