Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC sharply reduced its Fifth Third Bancorp stake in the fourth quarter, selling 106,843 shares and cutting its holdings by 90.5% to 11,265 shares valued at about $527,000.
• Fifth Third Bancorp posted solid quarterly results, reporting $0.83 EPS versus the $0.63 estimate, though revenue of $2.83 billion slightly missed expectations. Analysts currently see the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $57.29.
• The company continues to pay a steady dividend, with a recent quarterly payout of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 53.69%.

Prudential PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 90.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 106,843 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $649,264,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $714,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293,939 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 131.3% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,746,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,978 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,367,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,830,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,373,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803,861 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

FITB opened at $51.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $37.86 and a 52 week high of $55.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during 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 prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.29.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 189,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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