Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 74.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,727 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $18,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,849,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,743,000 after buying an additional 1,301,624 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,306,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,614,000 after acquiring an additional 398,517 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,677,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $850,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,941,333 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,008,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $737,728,000 after acquiring an additional 619,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $357,440,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.22 per share, with a total value of $123,660.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 84,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,501,309.24. This represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $45.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.25 and a fifty-two week high of $47.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.61. The company has a market capitalization of $29.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 18.67%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FITB. Stephens set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.75.

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.