Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,730 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,343,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,012,472,000 after acquiring an additional 734,403 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512,333 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,031,000 after buying an additional 281,494 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,434,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,015,000 after buying an additional 99,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,701,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,096,000 after acquiring an additional 56,298 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 2.3 %

FITB opened at $41.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.49.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on FITB. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.41.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.