Rockland Trust Co. Invests $217,000 in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Rockland Trust Co. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,078,000 after buying an additional 9,444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 460,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,776,000 after acquiring an additional 55,081 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 666,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,286,000 after acquiring an additional 54,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 44.9% in the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 77,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 23,890 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FITB. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, 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, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $44.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.29 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.75. 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 (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly 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 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.