Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 409,292 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.82% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $242,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

FITB stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.55. 4,202,665 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,543,782. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.29 and a one year high of $49.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.67.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 49.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.