Fruth Investment Management Acquires 20,957 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Fruth Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 335.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,957 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,948,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,929,647,000 after purchasing an additional 637,207 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,548,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,664,013,000 after acquiring an additional 10,444,799 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 32,549,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,437,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,021,000 after acquiring an additional 101,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,939,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,120,586,000 after acquiring an additional 530,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $56.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.90 and its 200 day moving average is $49.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $40.04 and a 12 month high of $56.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $1,009,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FITB shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.74.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.