Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires Shares of 7,668 Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 796,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,175,000 after acquiring an additional 9,792 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,305,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,080,000 after acquiring an additional 11,736 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.3% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 22.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 14,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of FITB stock opened at $37.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.49 and a 1 year high of $39.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,134,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.