Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 20.8% in Q4, adding 36,380 shares to reach 210,902 shares valued at about $9.87 million.
• Two executive VPs sold stock in April—Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares at about $50.77 and Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares at about $50.46—reducing insider ownership to 0.51%.
• Fifth Third beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $0.83 (vs. consensus -$0.04) while revenue was $2.83B (slightly below estimates); the bank pays a $0.40 quarterly dividend (3.2% yield) and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $57.19 target.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,380 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $9,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 56,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 16,323 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 45.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $968,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of FITB opened at $49.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.64 and a 12-month high of $55.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 3.2%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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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