Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC Cuts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,711 shares during the period. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FITB. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.36.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

FITB opened at $39.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.82 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.13%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.