380,838 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Acquired by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter, purchasing 380,838 shares valued at about $17.8 million.
• Fifth Third Bancorp reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting $0.83 EPS versus analysts’ estimate of a loss, though revenue came in slightly below expectations.
• The bank paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equal to a 3.2% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $57.19.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 380,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,830,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.06% of Fifth Third Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. United Community Bank raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 619.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $49.93 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 month high of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.19.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.

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