Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Makes New $119,000 Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 23,796 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 784,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,770,000 after buying an additional 7,778 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 29,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 6,812 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $43.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $28.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FITB. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.16.

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.