Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Invests $856,000 in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 24,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $856,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 9,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 116,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,033,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $36.46. 3,314,767 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,352,631. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.46 and a 12 month high of $37.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.65 and a 200 day moving average of $32.50. The firm has a market cap of $24.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

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.