Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 38,061 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 237.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,061 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth $29,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $56,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $37.50 to $39.50 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.15.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.82 on Thursday, hitting $41.80. 1,080,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,869,830. 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 market cap of $28.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.07. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.49 and a 52 week high of $41.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

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.