Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Has $682,000 Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,596,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,733,847,000 after buying an additional 5,512,333 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,337,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 896.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,678,000 after acquiring an additional 583,781 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,629,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,632,000 after purchasing an additional 442,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,433,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,323,000 after purchasing an additional 399,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.14 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $24.02 and a 1-year high of $45.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.74.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced 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). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost 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 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.28.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

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

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.