Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,692,000 after acquiring an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,046,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,535,000 after purchasing an additional 438,446 shares during the period. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 232,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 9,401 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $357,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 65,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after buying an additional 15,023 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $39.58 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.29.

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.