Ascension Asset Management LLC Sells 500 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Ascension Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Ascension Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at $5,224,883.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FITB. Argus lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.16.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $42.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $29.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.41 and its 200-day moving average is $38.37. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $43.85.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

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.