Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Makes New $273,000 Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Park National Corp OH raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 5,411 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $639,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 313,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,657,000 after purchasing an additional 26,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 827,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,796,000 after buying an additional 18,208 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ FITB opened at $44.67 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.49 and a 52 week high of $45.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm 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 revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,802.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mitchell Stuart Feiger sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $494,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,802.81. This represents a 0.00 % 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 this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. 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 valued at $2,169,920 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.