Bessemer Group Inc. Has $1.65 Million Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 67.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 86,336 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $41.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.12.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FITB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.