BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Reduces Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 807,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 303,915 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $34,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 22.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 52,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $6,901,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 261,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,260,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $47.90 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.89 and a 12-month high of $48.10. The stock has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.69.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

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.