Tredje AP fonden Boosts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Tredje AP fonden raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 468.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 364,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $14,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 91.3% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.10. The stock has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.96%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.