Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Increases Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 110.0%, owning a total of 330,612 shares worth approximately $12.96 million after purchasing an additional 173,200 shares.
• Fifth Third Bancorp's board has authorized a stock repurchase plan to buy back 100 million shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp, with a consensus price target of $47.80 and a rating of "Moderate Buy", reflecting strong investor interest.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 110.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 330,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 173,200 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $12,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $898,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,554 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,736,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,265,000 after acquiring an additional 862,374 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $334,805,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,111,000 after acquiring an additional 798,663 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,229,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,806,000 after acquiring an additional 564,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of several research analyst 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 target price on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $45.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,851,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,462,732. The firm's fifty day moving average is $42.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.91. The company has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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.