Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 96,656 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Fifth Third Bancorp stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 96,656 shares and bringing its total holding to 18.2 million shares worth about $848.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted positions in FITB, and institutional ownership now stands at 83.79% of the stock.
• Analysts remain constructive on Fifth Third Bancorp: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $57.19 target price, while the company also recently posted quarterly EPS of $0.83, easily topping estimates.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 96,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.75% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $848,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,293,939 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,367,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,400 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,373,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803,861 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,250,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,138 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3,358.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,667,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,314 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler restated 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. Truist Financial set a $57.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $49.93 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 month high of $55.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

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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