KBC Group NV Sells 236,972 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,004,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 236,972 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.30% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $78,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $912,692,000 after buying an additional 812,385 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,219,000 after acquiring an additional 285,910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $597,692,000 after purchasing an additional 823,803 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $371,836,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.13. 4,858,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,570,839. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $49.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.07. The company has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

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

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.