Sigma Planning Corp Lowers Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,233 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vicus Capital grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 9,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 284,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,820,000 after acquiring an additional 117,259 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $409,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $447,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $36.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.46 and a fifty-two week high of $37.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.32.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FITB shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

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.