3,819 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Bought by Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $102,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15,491.4% during the first quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,875,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,433,000 after buying an additional 8,818,187 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,477,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,229,625,000 after buying an additional 7,062,005 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $185,924,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 58,769,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,565,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,642 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 33,243,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,058 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $27.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.11 and a 12 month high of $38.06. The company has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 22.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, September 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 37.50%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The company's Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers.