KBC Group NV Sells 963,864 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,391,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 963,864 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $102,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,787.3% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.28.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB opened at $47.20 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average of $40.19. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $25.94 and a fifty-two week high of $48.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.17%.

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.