Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $223,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 821,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 14,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $454,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.09.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FITB stock opened at $46.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.49 and its 200 day moving average is $40.29. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.89 and a 12-month high of $48.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.17%.

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.