Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 10,763 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 17.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,763 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 19,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $41.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.49 and a 12-month high of $42.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.48 and a 200-day moving average of $37.79.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 17.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FITB shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,376,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total transaction of $835,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,224,883.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jude Schramm sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,920. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.