Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases 15,023 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,023 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 309,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,079,000 after acquiring an additional 34,203 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,692,000 after acquiring an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 232,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $357,000. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $9,878,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded up $1.89 on Monday, reaching $39.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,780,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,474,183. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.84. The company has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FITB shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.24.

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.