Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth $223,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 821,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after buying an additional 14,137 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $454,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 13,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.89 and a fifty-two week high of $48.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.36. The stock has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Argus upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.09.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by 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.