Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,491,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,551,000 after acquiring an additional 269,152 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised 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 acquiring an additional 69,273 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $376,413,000 after purchasing an additional 393,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.56. The stock had a trading volume of 4,007,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,768,773. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.65. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased 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. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.50.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.