OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Cuts Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora decreased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $185,924,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 58,769,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,565,617,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448,642 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 32.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,076,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176,903 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $73,081,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,944,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891,388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.52 on Thursday, hitting $34.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,331,203. The stock has a market cap of $23.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.68. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.46 and a 52-week high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.22. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management.