Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 101,385 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its Fifth Third Bancorp stake by 61.7% in the first quarter, selling 101,385 shares and ending with 62,994 shares worth about $2.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets and 16 Buy ratings versus five Holds; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target of $59.11.
• Fifth Third reported better-than-expected EPS of $0.83 for the quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying a 2.8% annualized yield.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 61.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 101,385 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FITB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.50 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.11.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total transaction of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of FITB opened at $57.99 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.04 and a fifty-two week high of $58.52. The firm has a market cap of $52.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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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