J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 1,306 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,306 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 116,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $36.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.48 and a 200-day moving average of $32.13. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $37.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

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.