Sterling Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 49.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,400 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 501.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FITB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price target (down from $57.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Monday, March 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.74.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB opened at $56.47 on Monday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $40.04 and a 52 week high of $56.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.90 and a 200-day moving average of $49.62.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 15.89%.The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.