Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 821,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,137 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $35,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FITB. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 55.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 92,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,456,000 after purchasing an additional 26,209 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 685,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,503,000 after purchasing an additional 16,516 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,657,000 after buying an additional 26,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FITB. StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $47.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.70 and a twelve month high of $47.58. The company has a market cap of $31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.09 and its 200 day moving average is $40.04.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.