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

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,657,000 after purchasing an additional 26,194 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.2% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.7% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $46.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.38. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.89 and a 1-year high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company 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.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued 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 return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FITB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.