B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,083,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,416,985,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472,392 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $257,189,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $67,354,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,575,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 341.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,928,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,357 shares of company stock valued at $816,148. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

FITB stock opened at $35.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $39.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.74 and its 200 day moving average is $35.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

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.