New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 53,000 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 423,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $18,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $52,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,787.3% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Argus upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.28.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB stock opened at $43.16 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $24.64 and a 1 year high of $45.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.85 and a 200 day moving average of $39.84. The company has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

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.