Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,494 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.43% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $356,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 43,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 13,390 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $345,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,701,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,096,000 after acquiring an additional 56,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 7,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,802.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $42.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.49 and a 12-month high of $42.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.96.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

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.