Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Trading Down 3.6% – Time to Sell?

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)’s share price was down 3.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $43.47 and last traded at $43.26. Approximately 524,707 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 5,221,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.78 and a 200-day moving average of $43.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.13%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,720.71. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fifth Third Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 40,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 64,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after buying an additional 5,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.