Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,655 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 52,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $6,901,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 261,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,183,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $5,260,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,224,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,278,000 after acquiring an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $48.16 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.89 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FITB. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Monday, September 30th. Baird R W cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

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.