Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 150,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,865 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 195,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 5,372 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 130,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,307,000 after buying an additional 9,257 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 17.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 591,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,994,000 after acquiring an additional 85,981 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 24,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 158,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $37.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 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. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $37.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

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.