Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires New Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 11,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,320 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,508,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,971,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $39.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.91 and a 200 day moving average of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.56.

Insider Activity

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

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.