Aquila Investment Management LLC Takes $428,000 Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Aquila Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,847,000 after buying an additional 5,512,333 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,337,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $23,678,000 after buying an additional 583,781 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,629,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,632,000 after purchasing an additional 442,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its position in 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 worth $52,323,000 after purchasing an additional 399,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $43.66 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.49 and a 1-year high of $45.71. The company has a market cap of $29.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase 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 3.39%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.