Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) EVP Kala Gibson Sells 14,857 Shares

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $37.23 on Thursday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.46 and a 1 year high of $37.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.42 and its 200-day moving average is $32.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 83,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.8% during the first quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 8,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 39.0% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.3% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $467,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.