PL Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

PL Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises 2.2% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FITB. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 9,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FITB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,357 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,888 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

FITB opened at $36.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.46 and a 12 month high of $37.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.