LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 519,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 73,245 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $21,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,320 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $53,508,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $38,971,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,692,000 after buying an additional 812,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB opened at $38.81 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $33.82 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.13%.

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.