Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,147,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 629,633 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 3.60% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $1,020,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FITB stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.02. 1,139,864 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,470,068. The firm has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The company 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 14.10% and a net margin of 17.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FITB. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $53.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.24.

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.