Smead Capital Management Inc. Acquires 75,024 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,224,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises about 1.4% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $95,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter worth $39,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.09.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of FITB opened at $46.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.89 and a 52-week high of $48.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

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.