Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Purchases 14,495 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,495 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $53.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $35.28 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.25 and its 200 day moving average is $42.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The company 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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