KBC Group NV Has $5.72 Million Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

KBC Group NV reduced its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 24.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,307 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $8,183,000. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $263,000. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Arjuna Capital lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 19,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $57.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $40.04 and a twelve month high of $59.50. The company has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.01). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised Fifth Third Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.20.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.