25,171 Shares in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Bought by Meyer Handelman Co.

Key Points

• Meyer Handelman Co. opened a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the first quarter, buying 25,171 shares worth about $1.17 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with analysts giving FITB a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $57.74.
• Fifth Third Bancorp reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.83 per share last quarter and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying a 2.8% annualized yield.

Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 4,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 64,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.74.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FITB stock opened at $56.47 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.59. The company has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $40.04 and a 12-month high of $56.77.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 53.69%.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the 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 owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.

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