Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 4,807 Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,787.3% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Baird R W lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $46.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.89 and a 52 week high of $48.10. The stock has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.