Smith Group Asset Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 732,651 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 399,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,713,000 after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,224,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,278,000 after buying an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,737,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,450,000 after buying an additional 158,067 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $44.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.65 and its 200-day moving average is $43.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.29 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

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.