Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,888,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,276 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.19% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $513,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 8,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 9,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 116,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FITB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.03. 4,592,366 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,288,092. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.05 and a 200 day moving average of $32.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $38.28. 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 (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.