Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 2,752 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,752 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.12.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $33.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.10 and its 200 day moving average is $42.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.