Kala Gibson Sells 14,857 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Stock

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.4 %

FITB stock opened at $37.06 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.46 and a 1-year high of $37.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.35 and its 200-day moving average is $32.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.7% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 196,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,301,000 after buying an additional 19,014 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 355.1% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 89,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,320,000 after buying an additional 69,619 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 139,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 133.9% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 20,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 11,863 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FITB. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.31.

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.