Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Stock: King Luther Capital Management Corp Reduces Position

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 672,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,396 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.07% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $34,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 55,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 6,890 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 46,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 6,328 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 94,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 9,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 71 West Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 11,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Argus raised Fifth Third Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.87.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $54.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $49.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.19. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.68 and a fifty-two week high of $59.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.27. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $1,062,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 121,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,454,384.40. This trade represents a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, it provides consumer and commercial banking, lending, payment processing, and wealth and asset management services. The company traces its roots to 1858 and took the Fifth Third name following the 1908 merger of Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank. Its banking operations serve individuals, businesses, and communities across parts of the Midwest and Southeast, including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.