Insider Buying: Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Director Purchases 3,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Evan Bayh, a director at Fifth Third Bancorp, purchased 3,000 shares of stock, increasing his total holdings to 84,942 shares valued at over $3.5 million.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, a 3.8% yield, up from the previous dividend of $0.37.
• Fifth Third Bancorp's stock has seen several analysts raise their price targets, with an average target of $50.45 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) Director Evan Bayh acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 84,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,501,309.24. The trade was a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

FITB traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,010,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,382,436. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.30 and its 200-day moving average is $40.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 18.67%.The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 47.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Argus upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,849,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,448,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,624 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,306,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $958,614,000 after purchasing an additional 398,517 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,677,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $850,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941,333 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,008,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $737,728,000 after purchasing an additional 619,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $357,440,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

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.

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