Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 6,410 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $7,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 7.5% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of FITB stock opened at $37.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.69. 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 has a 1 year low of $33.82 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FITB shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.36.

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.