Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,899 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $12,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $48.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.86. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.89 and a twelve month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

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.