Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 76.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 512,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 221,608 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $20,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 106.2% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 533,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,652,000 after acquiring an additional 274,684 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 510.7% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 269,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,584,000 after acquiring an additional 225,781 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.2% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,139,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,681,000 after acquiring an additional 77,047 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 493,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,342,000 after purchasing an additional 50,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.6% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 205,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,025,000 after purchasing an additional 10,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.48 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.94. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.80.

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.