New England Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

New England Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 201,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,180 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp makes up about 1.3% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $8,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $46.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.48. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.89 and a 1 year high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

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.