Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $35.19 Million Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 approximately 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $35,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FITB. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Finally, Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,594,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,616,314. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.70 and a twelve month high of $47.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.12.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.