UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1,040.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,118 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 8,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Lcnb Corp increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 19,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 41,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 73,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Argus upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.35. The stock had a trading volume of 183,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,864,090. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $41.85. The company has a market capitalization of $28.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.25 and its 200 day moving average is $36.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.