New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 11,800 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $15,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FITB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $43.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.09. The firm has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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.

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