Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,447 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 161.8% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $42.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FITB. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

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.