Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,802.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.98 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.49 and a one year high of $43.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

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.