Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 316 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $223,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 55,913 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.36. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.89 and a 1-year high of $48.10. The firm has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.