Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 35,561 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 542,502 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,561 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $86,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PM. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in Philip Morris International by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 56,737 shares of the company's stock worth $6,828,000 after acquiring an additional 10,703 shares in the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 94,423 shares of the company's stock worth $11,364,000 after buying an additional 9,789 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Philip Morris International by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.30.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Philip Morris International stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $183.98. 5,616,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,611,045. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $98.93 and a one year high of $184.33. The stock has a market cap of $286.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.50.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. The business had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Philip Morris International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.