Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 27,843 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 677,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,843 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $23,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,428,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,117,000 after buying an additional 1,500,653 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% in 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. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,575,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $502,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,194 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,247,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $318,979,000 after purchasing an additional 393,489 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $171,600,000 after buying an additional 253,405 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the 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 owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,762,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,111,504. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.57. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $39.14.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.