Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 14,137 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 821,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,137 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $35,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 150,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,506,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 8,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 334,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,201,000 after buying an additional 31,911 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $43.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,881,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,567,301. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.29 and a 1-year high of $49.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.32.

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.