Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $2.13 Million Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 45,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,264,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,548,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,664,013,000 after purchasing an additional 10,444,799 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 719.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,012,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644,332 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,799,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,114,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,939 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $56.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $51.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $40.04 and a 12 month high of $56.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.70.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (down from $57.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.94.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.