Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,280 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Cowen started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 2.2%

FITB stock opened at $42.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.07. The company has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.91. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.25 and a twelve month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

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.