Norges Bank Makes New $257.19 Million Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,456,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,189,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.09% of Fifth Third Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 24,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 54,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 32,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,062 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $38.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $39.14. The firm has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

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.