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

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 837,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 505,575 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $35,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted 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 grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 232,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,843,000 after buying an additional 9,401 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $357,000. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 2.4 %

FITB stock opened at $38.81 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.82 and a 12 month high of $49.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.18 and its 200 day moving average is $43.50. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FITB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.64.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction 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 $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.