Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $175.39 Million Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management boosted its Fifth Third Bancorp stake by 131.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 3.75 million shares worth about $175.4 million.
• Insider selling was reported by executives Kevin J. Khanna and Peter L. Sefzik, while insiders own just 0.51% of the company overall.
• Fifth Third Bancorp beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $0.83 versus $0.63 expected, and analysts remain constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $57.19.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 131.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,746,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,126,978 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises 0.7% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.57% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $175,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,948,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,929,647,000 after acquiring an additional 637,207 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,224,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $945,556,000 after acquiring an additional 546,914 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,197,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $848,672,000 after acquiring an additional 96,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In related news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,700.23. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,556,215.72. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 4.7%

FITB opened at $51.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.95 and a 200 day moving average of $48.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.86 and a 12 month high of $55.44. The company has a market cap of $46.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.92.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. 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 note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.19.

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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