M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 69.7% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 50,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 20,862 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $995,717,000. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,222,000. Saudi Central Bank increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 91.0% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 63,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,573,000 after acquiring an additional 30,201 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $12,698,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total value of $1,062,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 121,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,454,384.40. The trade was a 14.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $54.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.68 and a fifty-two week high of $59.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.18.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.10 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 Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FITB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.87.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Fifth Third Bank, it provides consumer and commercial banking, lending, payment processing, and wealth and asset management services. The company traces its roots to 1858 and took the Fifth Third name following the 1908 merger of Fifth National Bank and Third National Bank. Its banking operations serve individuals, businesses, and communities across parts of the Midwest and Southeast, including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.