Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 57,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 796,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,175,000 after purchasing an additional 9,792 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,305,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,080,000 after purchasing an additional 11,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.3% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of FITB traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,828,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,026,402. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.49 and a 12-month high of $39.14. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.62 and its 200 day moving average is $33.99.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.