Vest Financial LLC Purchases 15,873 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 657,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,873 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $28,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at $863,802.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,000 shares of company stock worth $2,169,920 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.70 on Friday, reaching $44.67. 8,966,615 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,611,702. The company has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.49 and a 52 week high of $45.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.10. 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 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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.