Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 84,157 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 84,157 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.99. 3,522,731 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,754,390. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.89 and a 12 month high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.38.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.