Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 1,011,203 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 1,011,203 shares and bringing its total holding to 8,942,827 shares worth about $418.6 million.
• Other major institutional investors also added to or adjusted their FITB positions, and institutions now own about 83.79% of the company’s stock.
• Fifth Third Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $57.29.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,942,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,011,203 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $418,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 32,549,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719,361 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,224,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $945,556,000 after buying an additional 546,914 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $848,672,000 after acquiring an additional 96,656 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.29.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $51.96 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.60. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $37.86 and a one year high of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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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