Insider Selling: Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) EVP Sells $1,062,800.00 in Stock

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $1,062,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 121,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,454,384.40. This trade represents a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $53.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $40.68 and a 52 week high of $59.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FITB. Citigroup increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Argus upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Essential Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 74.7% in the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, government entities and institutional clients.

The company’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, credit and debit cards, treasury management, cash management and payment-processing services. Through its wealth and asset management businesses, Fifth Third also provides investment management, brokerage, trust, private banking and financial planning services.

Fifth Third primarily serves customers across the Midwest and Southeast, with a branch and banking-center network spanning states including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.