BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 31,664 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 316.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,664 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 22,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 9,640 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 645,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,265,000 after purchasing an additional 30,483 shares during the period. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $810,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FITB shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB opened at $33.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.