BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Cuts Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. cut its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 807,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 303,915 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $34,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,724. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of FITB opened at $47.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.89 and a 52 week high of $48.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 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 paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.17%.

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.