Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,477,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,220 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $57,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $597,692,000 after acquiring an additional 823,803 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,046,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,535,000 after purchasing an additional 438,446 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 232,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 9,401 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,011,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $357,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.14. The stock had a trading volume of 4,405,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,571,545. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.09. The company has a market cap of $28.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FITB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.