American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 775,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,798 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $32,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,692,000 after purchasing an additional 812,385 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,713,000 after acquiring an additional 409,292 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,444,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,340,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $38.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend 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.