Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Shares Bought by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 74.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,635,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 697,995 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $76,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 100,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 39.7% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 176,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,182,000 after buying an additional 50,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $57.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $58.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.94.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.