LSV Asset Management Acquires 478,607 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,335,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 478,607 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $149,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.56. 4,007,014 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,768,773. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.46 and a 12-month high of $37.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FITB shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% 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.