Bank of Montreal Can Sells 71,918 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,819,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,918 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $78,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.6% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 13,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 83,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 280,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter worth $1,100,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $48.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.41 and a 200-day moving average of $40.86. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.89 and a 52-week high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current 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 $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FITB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.62.

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.