Vicus Capital Trims Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Vicus Capital lessened its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 135,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 22,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 74,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 142,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,315,000 after buying an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $43.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.32 and a 200-day moving average of $39.24. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.