Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $78.06 Million Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans sharply increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3,358.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,667,523 shares worth about $78.1 million.
• Institutional ownership of FITB remains high, with 83.79% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds. Several other funds also added to their positions during recent quarters.
• Fifth Third Bancorp beat earnings expectations with $0.83 EPS in its latest quarter, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $57.19.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 3,358.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,667,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,619,314 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.25% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $78,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 40.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,218,000 after purchasing an additional 16,323 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 45.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $968,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

FITB stock opened at $47.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.71. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $36.64 and a one year high of $55.44. The stock has a market cap of $42.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 53.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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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