IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,474 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $371,836,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,508,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,172,000 after buying an additional 1,175,834 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $402,991,000 after buying an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,971,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $43.45. 3,918,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,580,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.02 and its 200 day moving average is $40.03. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

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.