Raymond James & Associates Sells 57,293 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 604,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,293 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.09% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $25,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on FITB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $44.06 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.40 and a 200-day moving average of $39.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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 fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

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.