Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 281,494 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $356,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $42.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $28.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $42.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.96.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FITB shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.56.

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.