Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

FITB stock opened at $38.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.15 and a 200 day moving average of $32.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.49 and a twelve month high of $38.71. The firm has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion during 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 period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $37.50 to $39.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 136,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,134,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.