Venture Visionary Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Venture Visionary Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,144 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB traded down $1.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,313,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,610,235. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.49 and a twelve month high of $45.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.12.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,883.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,000 shares of company stock worth $2,169,920. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FITB. 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 report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays raised 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 note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.28.

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.