Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,819,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,918 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.27% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $78,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $39,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.62.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $48.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.89 and a 12 month high of $49.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.86. The company has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. 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 yield of 3.07%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

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.