Ethic Inc. Has $3.44 Million Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.4%, selling 8,130 shares in the first quarter and maintaining 88,433 shares worth approximately $3.44 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Allianz Asset Management and Deutsche Bank AG, have increased their stakes in Fifth Third Bancorp, reflecting strong institutional interest with 83.79% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Fifth Third Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share and initiated a share repurchase program to buy back up to 100 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Ethic Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,130 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.8% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 292,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,046,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,535,000 after acquiring an additional 438,446 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 818,564 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,088,000 after purchasing an additional 12,905 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $1,011,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 47,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Cowen started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $42.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,518,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,930,185. The company has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.