Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Cuts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,283 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given 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 $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $37.23. 3,633,110 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,470,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.35 and a 200 day moving average of $32.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.