Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $43.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.09. The firm has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Robert W. Baird raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

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.