Founders Financial Securities LLC Raises Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 9.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Capital World Investors raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 34.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,472,392 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $257,189,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,575,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499,194 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 341.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,928,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $46,472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $41.70 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $42.91. The stock has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.04 and a 200 day moving average of $37.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FITB shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.