Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,619 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,654,000 after buying an additional 1,816,320 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $53,508,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,172,000 after buying an additional 1,175,834 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,991,000 after buying an additional 1,027,044 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of FITB stock opened at $40.59 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $37.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.

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