Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $91.38 Million Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,161,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,730 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $91,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $191,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 2,265 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% in the third 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. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 666,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,286,000 after buying an additional 54,463 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.43. 4,425,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,472,951. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.88.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FITB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.24.

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.