Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) is Avalon Advisory Group’s 9th Largest Position

Avalon Advisory Group reduced its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,529 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp accounts for approximately 0.6% of Avalon Advisory Group’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Avalon Advisory Group’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 155.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 170,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,326,000 after buying an additional 103,392 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 85.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 50,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 23,146 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 24,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,194 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 111,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,079,000 after purchasing an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.62.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FITB opened at $48.06 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $28.29 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% 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.