Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,609 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $912,692,000 after purchasing an additional 812,385 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,219,000 after buying an additional 285,910 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $371,836,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FITB. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.24.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related 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 value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $35.57. 588,795 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,189,229. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.40.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 46.98%.

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.