Sigma Planning Corp Sells 258 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Park National Corp OH raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after buying an additional 9,444 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth $639,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,657,000 after acquiring an additional 26,194 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. 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. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp 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 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 trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.29. 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 one year low of $26.89 and a one year high of $48.10. The firm has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued 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 return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.17%.

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.