Focus Partners Wealth Decreases Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth reduced its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 23.2%, selling 31,033 shares and lowering their total ownership to 102,953 shares worth approximately $4.04 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Fifth Third Bancorp, with notable increases from Larson Financial Group (up 91.3%) and REAP Financial Group (up 161.8%).
• Fifth Third Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.37 to $0.40, representing a 3.5% dividend yield, along with a stock repurchase plan allowing the buyback of 100 million shares.

Focus Partners Wealth trimmed its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,033 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $4,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,908,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $898,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,554 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,736,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,265,000 after purchasing an additional 862,374 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $334,805,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,510,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,196,000 after acquiring an additional 279,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,028,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,117,000 after acquiring an additional 542,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of FITB traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.08. The stock had a trading volume of 8,455,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,085,903. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The firm has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $43.70 and its 200 day moving average is $40.19.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. DA Davidson raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.13.

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.