New England Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

New England Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,180 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises about 1.3% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $8,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park National Corp OH lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,254,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $639,000. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,837,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FITB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Baird R W lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.09.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $46.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.48. The firm has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.89 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. 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.