National Pension Service Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 32,981 more shares and bringing its total holding to 1,235,676 shares valued at about $57.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and 83.79% of FITB shares are now owned by institutions, showing strong professional investor interest in the stock.
• Fifth Third Bancorp recently reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, beating estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $57.19.

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,235,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,981 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.19% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $57,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $714,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,939 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,367,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,400 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,373,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803,861 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,250,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,138 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3,358.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,667,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,314 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $49.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $48.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $37.28 and a twelve month high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.

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