Signet Financial Management LLC Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Signet Financial Management LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $185,924,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 58,769,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,565,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,642 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 32.1% in the third 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 period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $73,081,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,944,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,388 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FITB. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,566,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,350,991. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.60. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.22. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 18.58%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.34%.

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.