Vista Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,756 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp makes up 1.3% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,083,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,472,392 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,189,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $67,354,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,575,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,719,000 after buying an additional 1,499,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 341.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,928,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,124 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FITB. StockNews.com upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $40.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,039,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,826,277. The company has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.75. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.49 and a twelve month high of $42.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,500 shares of company stock worth $1,429,920. 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.