Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 730,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,054 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $25,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 9,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 116,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,033,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $38.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,624,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,233,620. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $38.71. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $36.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 3.62%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

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 transaction of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.