25,681 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Bought by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 51,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,724. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,441,720.71. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $47.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.89 and a 12-month high of $48.10.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FITB. Citigroup raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.62.

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.