Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. reduced its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,985 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 269,152 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,805,000 after purchasing an additional 69,273 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,413,000 after purchasing an additional 393,937 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.93. The stock had a trading volume of 633,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,377,044. The firm has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.46 and a twelve month high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FITB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.31.

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.