Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Makes New $981,000 Investment in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $622,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $84,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.7% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 67,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,568 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 424.3% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 19,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $43.16 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $24.64 and a 12 month high of $45.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.85 and its 200-day moving average is $39.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.28.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.