HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 84,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,047,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FITB. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 140,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 14,791 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,479,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,487,000 after purchasing an additional 208,716 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,350,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 269,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,263 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.76. 138,047 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,853,823. The company has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.24. 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 has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $39.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.26.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,357 shares of company stock valued at $816,148 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on 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, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.