Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 505,575 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 837,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 505,575 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.12% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $35,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 309,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,079,000 after purchasing an additional 34,203 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 232,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $357,000. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $9,878,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FITB shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of FITB stock opened at $38.81 on Friday. 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 market cap of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.82 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.