Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 2,730 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,730 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 693,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,317,000 after purchasing an additional 8,410 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 48,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 2,157 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 140,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,107,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 57,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 25.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FITB shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $41.86 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.49.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released 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 company had revenue of $3.32 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.