Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Shares Bought by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 254.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,419 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $649,264,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,548,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,664,013,000 after buying an additional 10,444,799 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 719.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,012,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,993,000 after buying an additional 2,644,332 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,799,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,046,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 10,874,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196,388 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens began coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.11.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

FITB stock opened at $58.02 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $58.51. The firm has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.48. 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 (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.69%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.