North Star Investment Management Corp. Reduces Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

North Star Investment Management Corp. reduced its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted 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 worth $1,733,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512,333 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,337,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 896.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,678,000 after purchasing an additional 583,781 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,629,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,632,000 after acquiring an additional 442,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,433,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,323,000 after purchasing an additional 399,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.23. 409,875 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,595,788. The company has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $24.64 and a 12-month high of $45.71.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change 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 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FITB. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.