Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 7,855 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 58.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,855 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 809,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,926,000 after purchasing an additional 13,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $42.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $28.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $42.91.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.56.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.