Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $36.85 and last traded at $36.90. 689,749 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,280,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.10.

Specifically, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.56.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fifth Third Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.