Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by New England Asset Management Inc.

New England Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 52,355 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp accounts for 1.1% of New England Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FITB. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.56.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FITB traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.64. 3,128,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,476,556. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.25 and a 1 year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is 46.98%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

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 stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. This trade represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.