Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% in Q4 to 3,367,700 shares, representing about $157.5 million of the stock.
• Fifth Third delivered a notable earnings beat with Q1 EPS of $0.83 versus a consensus of ($0.04) (revenue $2.83B vs $2.91B expected) and recently paid a $0.40 quarterly dividend, implying a 3.1% yield.
• Two executive VPs sold a combined 26,000 shares in April for roughly $1.31 million, modestly trimming their insider holdings.

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 130.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,367,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,907,400 shares during the quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned approximately 0.51% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $157,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 619.6% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $50.84 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.44. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.55 and a 12 month high of $55.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.94. 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. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Evercore increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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