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

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,656 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $848,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 348,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,503,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 161,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,189,000 after acquiring an additional 24,566 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,023,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,131,000 after acquiring an additional 48,080 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,276,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,788,000 after acquiring an additional 39,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,619,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,169,000 after acquiring an additional 340,030 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $49.93 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 month high of $55.44. The stock has a market cap of $45.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 53.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $57.00 target price on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.