Boston Partners Lowers Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Boston Partners cut its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 42.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,040,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,212,440 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $288,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FITB. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter worth $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,043.3% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 246.3% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 53.0% in the second quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.22 per share, for a total transaction of $123,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 84,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,501,309.24. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.28 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $48.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.22. The stock has a market cap of $28.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 18.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Argus boosted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $49.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.35.

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.