HighTower Advisors LLC Has $8.21 Million Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 175,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,878 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $8,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 581.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 619.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $49.82 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.28 and a 1 year high of $55.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.09.

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 ($0.04) by $0.87. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% 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.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.