MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 6,345 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 176,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,345 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $7,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $271,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,895,000. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $804,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,173,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,263,000 after buying an additional 190,228 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of FITB opened at $48.06 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $28.29 and a twelve month high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.03.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.37 dividend. 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 yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

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.