V Square Quantitative Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lessened its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,733,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512,333 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $33,337,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 896.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,678,000 after buying an additional 583,781 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth $19,401,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,629,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,632,000 after acquiring an additional 442,121 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $44.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $45.71.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,000 shares of company stock worth $2,169,920. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.