Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $456,000 in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Bailard Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lcnb Corp increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 19,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

FITB opened at $42.62 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.97 and a 200 day moving average of $38.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $43.37. The firm has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FITB. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.16.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.