KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 229,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,768,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB opened at $40.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.50 and a 200 day moving average of $43.57. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $33.82 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FITB. Barclays increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.86.

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.