Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 73,853 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,428,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,653 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during 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. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,076,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3,176,903 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,600,000 after purchasing an additional 253,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,601,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,906,000 after purchasing an additional 281,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $37.23 on Thursday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.42 and its 200 day moving average is $32.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 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 last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on FITB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

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.