Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,801 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $9,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $371,836,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,271.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,834 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,971,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,692,000 after acquiring an additional 823,803 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $32.25 and a 52-week high of $49.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.06.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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