J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,306 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,428,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,653 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,413,000 after acquiring an additional 393,937 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,076,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,188,000 after buying an additional 3,176,903 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,600,000 after buying an additional 253,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,601,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,906,000 after buying an additional 281,557 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $36.82 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.46 and a one year high of $37.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.48 and its 200 day moving average is $32.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on FITB shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,072,172.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888. 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.