Sapient Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 42,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,491,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FITB. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.56. The company had a trading volume of 4,007,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,768,773. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.56. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.46 and a one year high of $37.77. The firm has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.