Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 2,314 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $7,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,043.3% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 91.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 246.3% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $41.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.01. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 18.67%.The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FITB shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 3,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 84,942 shares in the company, valued at $3,501,309.24. This represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.