AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Cuts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 114,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63,328 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $357,440,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,677,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $850,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941,333 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,849,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,624 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $52,643,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 20.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,240,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,821,000 after buying an additional 1,240,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $49.79 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.54 and a 200 day moving average of $44.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.97. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $53.33.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 13.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 45.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $109,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 129,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,265,763.50. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.