Valmark Advisers Inc. Takes Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $181,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FITB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $37.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.60 and a 200 day moving average of $32.41. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.46 and a 1 year high of $37.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

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.