National Pension Service Increases Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,156,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 129,226 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $49,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded up $3.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.44. 8,081,733 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,626,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.64 and a twelve month high of $46.48. The company has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.84.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.