EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Capital World Investors increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,083,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,416,985,000 after buying an additional 10,472,392 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $257,189,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $67,354,000. Boston Partners increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,575,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,719,000 after buying an additional 1,499,194 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 341.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,928,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,521,000 after buying an additional 1,492,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $35.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.30. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.49 and a twelve month high of $39.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,357 shares of company stock valued at $816,148. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management.