NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 10,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in 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 $39.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.56.

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.