Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818,564 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,905 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $32,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FITB. Boston Partners raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,046,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,535,000 after acquiring an additional 438,446 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $357,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 65,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 15,023 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.43. The company had a trading volume of 6,101,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,570,470. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.06. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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 note on Thursday, March 13th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp 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.