Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% in the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $639,000. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $46.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.41. 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 has a 12 month low of $26.89 and a 12 month high of $48.10.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.09.

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.