Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 84,157 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,157 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.89 and a fifty-two week high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.09.

Insider Activity

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

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.