Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 409,292 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 409,292 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $242,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,774,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,978,000 after buying an additional 732,651 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,031,000 after acquiring an additional 281,494 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,679,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,837,000 after acquiring an additional 399,827 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,224,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,278,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,737,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,450,000 after purchasing an additional 158,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $45.55 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.29 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.54 and its 200-day moving average is $41.67. The firm has a market cap of $30.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.81.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.