Joseph Group Capital Management Increases Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,873 shares during the quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,219,000 after purchasing an additional 285,910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,692,000 after purchasing an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $371,836,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,111,000 after purchasing an additional 798,663 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.76. 4,001,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,574,943. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.47 and its 200-day moving average is $40.09. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.