Planned Solutions Inc. Buys Shares of 2,300 Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FITB. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 43.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 93.4% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $36.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.69 and a 200-day moving average of $30.68. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.46 and a one year high of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.22. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.34%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Fifth Third Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.30.

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.