Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F 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.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 8,491 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 44,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,416,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,971,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Cowen started coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price 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 for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of FITB traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,164,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,561,700. The company has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.08.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during 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 previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

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.