Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,289 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,220,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 11,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 79,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after acquiring an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $42.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.61. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $33.03 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.75.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.