Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,897 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FITB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 5,682 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 147,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 261,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 52,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $761,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FITB opened at $39.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, 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 has a 1-year low of $33.82 and a 1-year high of $49.07.

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 $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date 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.