Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,466,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 622,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 2.13% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $379,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 58,769,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,565,617,000 after buying an additional 3,448,642 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 43,179,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,702,804 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,874,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,400,000 after purchasing an additional 296,945 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,944,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,946,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,491,000 after purchasing an additional 33,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.96% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $27.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.94. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.11 and a 52 week high of $38.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.09. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Saturday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director C. Bryan Daniels bought 64,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.31 per share, for a total transaction of $1,503,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 325,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,582,230.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, September 18th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.03.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The company's Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers.