National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

National Pension Service lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,235,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,981 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $57,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 64,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 11,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ FITB opened at $49.93 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.28 and a fifty-two week high of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.21. The stock has a market cap of $45.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.