Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 287,342 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,763,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 287,342 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.86% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $243,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Family Legacy Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 153,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after acquiring an additional 30,914 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,485,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,650,000 after acquiring an additional 542,460 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 122,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,170,000 after acquiring an additional 9,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at $10,820,994.62. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $38.93 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.82 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.96 and a 200 day moving average of $43.49. The stock has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.13%.

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.