Northern Trust Corp Acquires 798,663 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,074,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 798,663 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.06% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $299,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,654,000 after buying an additional 1,816,320 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $53,508,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $38,971,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $53.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,677,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,471,648. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.