Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 2,300 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 4.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512,333 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,757,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,031,000 after purchasing an additional 281,494 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,679,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,837,000 after purchasing an additional 399,827 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,434,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,015,000 after buying an additional 99,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,701,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,096,000 after buying an additional 56,298 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.75 and a 52-week high of $45.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.54 and a 200 day moving average of $39.37.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for 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%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Argus increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.28.

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.