Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 141,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,308 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $835,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock worth $2,269,920. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $41.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.76. The company has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.22. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $42.91.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.04). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.