Verus Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FITB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 89.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 56.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $47.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.12. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $24.70 and a 1-year high of $47.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued 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 return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 20,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade 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 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.