Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Bought by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,203 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $13,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,369,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 11,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 66,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,801,000 after buying an additional 5,377 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.34. 9,304,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,879,152. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.29 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.