Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,853 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $7,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 269,152 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,805,000 after purchasing an additional 69,273 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,413,000 after purchasing an additional 393,937 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $37.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.31.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.