Sapient Capital LLC Invests $1.51 Million in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 43,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 269,152 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,805,000 after buying an additional 69,273 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $376,413,000 after acquiring an additional 393,937 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 671,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,017,000 after purchasing an additional 27,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 460.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 675,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,559,000 after purchasing an additional 555,375 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.9 %

FITB traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.53. 3,339,985 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,374,066. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.22. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 43.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.