Richardson Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 10.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FITB. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.22. 6,405,854 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,167,749. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.75 and a fifty-two week high of $45.71. The company 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 current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.37.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on 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. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.