Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,948,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 637,207 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.70% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $3,929,647,000 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 the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

FITB stock opened at $50.33 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $35.18 and a fifty-two week high of $55.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on FITB shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.11.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.