Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Fifth Third Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Charles Daniels bought US$1.5m worth of shares at a price of US$23.31 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$33.65), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 117.00k shares for US$2.9m. But they sold 1.00k shares for US$37k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Fifth Third Bancorp insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Fifth Third Bancorp

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Fifth Third Bancorp insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$98m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Fifth Third Bancorp Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Fifth Third Bancorp insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Fifth Third Bancorp.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.