26,049 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Purchased by VCI Wealth Management LLC

VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 269,152 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,805,000 after purchasing an additional 69,273 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,413,000 after purchasing an additional 393,937 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of FITB stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.82. 2,832,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,437,124. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.46 and a 1 year high of $37.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’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 value of $540,497.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FITB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.31.

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.