Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,046 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,046 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 460,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,776,000 after buying an additional 55,081 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. First National Trust Co boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 77,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 23,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,031,000 after acquiring an additional 281,494 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.32.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $42.59 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.29 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The company has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.