Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 368,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91,537 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $15,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FITB. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,168,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,478,000 after acquiring an additional 164,260 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $838,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 120,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 163,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ FITB opened at $39.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.82 and a 12 month high of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.88 and a 200-day moving average of $43.47.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

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.