Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 9,052 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 49.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,052 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $8,529,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,276,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,788,000 after purchasing an additional 39,261 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,931,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,354,000 after purchasing an additional 690,648 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,947,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,850,000 after purchasing an additional 840,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,672,000 after buying an additional 96,656 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $57.65 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $40.04 and a 52-week high of $58.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $52.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens started coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.