Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Stock: Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Decreases Holdings

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lessened its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,424,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 311,596 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $224,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Essential Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 175.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total value of $1,062,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 121,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,454,384.40. This trade represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $53.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $40.68 and a one year high of $59.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%. The business’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.87.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, it provides consumer and commercial banking, lending, payment processing, and wealth and asset management services. The company traces its roots to 1858 and took the Fifth Third name following the 1908 merger of Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank. Its banking operations serve individuals, businesses, and communities across parts of the Midwest and Southeast, including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.