35,518 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 35,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.19.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $50.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.11 and a 200-day moving average of $47.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $45.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $35.55 and a 1-year high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.87. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

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.