Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires Shares of 65,554 Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 65,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,660,000. Philip Morris International comprises approximately 1.4% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 7.2% during the 3rd 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. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 128,776,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,887,743,000 after buying an additional 2,714,674 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $362,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,002 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $748,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 69.0% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,512,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jacek Olczak sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,200,429.92. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,463 shares in the company, 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 insiders.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:PM opened at $165.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $177.01 and its 200-day moving average is $164.23. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.11 and a 1-year high of $191.30. The stock has a market cap of $257.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.38.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $181.50 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $220.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.83.

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.