Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,157 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $4,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FITB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,774,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,978,000 after buying an additional 732,651 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $28,490,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 76.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,330,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,005,000 after buying an additional 575,449 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,713,000 after buying an additional 409,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $12,895,000. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FITB shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Fifth Third Bancorp stock opened at $42.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.67. Fifth Third Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.13%.

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.