Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Down 0.5% Following Insider Selling

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) shares were down 0.5% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $36.85 and last traded at $36.90. Approximately 689,749 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,280,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.10.

Specifically, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,857 shares of company stock valued at $1,787,638. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 125.0% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.