Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 955,162 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. $PM

Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 955,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,264,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Platt Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Platt Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 2.2% in the third quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 2,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE PM opened at $196.29 on Thursday. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.35 and a 52 week high of $214.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $195.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.34.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.73% and a negative return on equity of 183.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. Weiss Ratings upgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research set a $221.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $205.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.90.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International is a global tobacco and nicotine company that develops, manufactures and sells cigarettes and smoke-free products. Its cigarette brands include Marlboro in markets outside the United States, along with other regional and international brands. The company’s smoke-free portfolio includes IQOS heated tobacco products, ZYN nicotine pouches and VEEV e-vapor products. Philip Morris International sells its products in markets around the world, with availability varying by country and subject to local regulations.