Waverly Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 19,652 Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 19,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $912,692,000 after purchasing an additional 812,385 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $715,219,000 after purchasing an additional 285,910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $597,692,000 after purchasing an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $371,836,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of FITB stock traded up $0.94 on Tuesday, hitting $38.14. 3,783,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,503,112. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $36.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.78.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.