Ballentine Partners LLC Buys 8,128 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 52.8%, acquiring an additional 8,128 shares, bringing its total holdings to 23,523 shares valued at approximately $968,000.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, increasing from the previous $0.37, representing a 3.5% dividend yield.
• Research analysts are optimistic about Fifth Third Bancorp, with several firms raising their target prices and ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.60.

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 52.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,128 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $334,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $113,900,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $898,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,554 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,989,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $45.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 45.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.60.

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.

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