MQS Management LLC Invests $774,000 in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus boosted 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 report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

FITB opened at $47.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.19. Fifth Third Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.70 and a twelve month high of $47.58.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid 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 payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. This trade represents 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $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 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.