Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Stake Raised by Capital Research Global Investors

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors boosted its Fifth Third Bancorp stake by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 731,799 shares and bringing its total holding to 6,450,801 shares worth about $302 million.
• Fifth Third Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, topping analyst estimates of $0.63, though revenue came in slightly below expectations.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, annualizing to $1.60 and implying a 3.1% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $57.19.

Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,450,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 731,799 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.98% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $301,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,948,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,929,647,000 after acquiring an additional 637,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,373,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803,861 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,224,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $945,556,000 after acquiring an additional 546,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $848,672,000 after acquiring an additional 96,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $714,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293,939 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $52.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.86 and a fifty-two week high of $55.44. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.52. The firm has a market cap of $47.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $54.00 target price (down from $57.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.19.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.

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