Avanza Fonder AB Takes $2.37 Million Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 56,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,369,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 232.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.34. The company had a trading volume of 9,304,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,879,152. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.29 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.86.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.17%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.