Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,146 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $7,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. United Community Bank lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 246.3% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $32,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $53.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $55.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.05.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 45.20%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,250 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $109,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 129,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,763.50. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.