Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Purchases 17,161 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.3% in the first quarter, owning 156,184 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million.
• Multiple large investors, including Commerce Bank and Orca Wealth Management LLC, have also modified their holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning 83.79% of the stock.
• Fifth Third Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 and authorized a share repurchase program for up to 100 million shares, indicating the board's confidence in the stock's valuation.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,161 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 292,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,450,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,046,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,535,000 after purchasing an additional 438,446 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 818,564 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,088,000 after purchasing an additional 12,905 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 49.5% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 47,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 15,692 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $45.60. 3,584,347 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,644,024. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $42.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.95. The company has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 45.96%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FITB. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.