Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,413 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $45.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.29 and a 12 month high of $49.07. The company has a market capitalization of $30.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.17%.

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.