United Advisor Group LLC Has $370,000 Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

United Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the quarter. United Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,692,000 after purchasing an additional 812,385 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,219,000 after buying an additional 285,910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FITB. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $38.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.34 and a 200-day moving average of $40.42. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.25 and a 12-month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.