Empirical Finance LLC Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512,333 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,337,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 896.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,678,000 after acquiring an additional 583,781 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,433,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,323,000 after acquiring an additional 399,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,679,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,837,000 after acquiring an additional 399,827 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.89 and a 52-week high of $48.10. The stock has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Barclays increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.