Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Purchased by Joseph Group Capital Management

Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises approximately 1.1% of Joseph Group Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FITB. Bank of America increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $43.85.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

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.