Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 3,476 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FITB stock opened at $36.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.46 and a 12-month high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.