Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 14,157 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 732,651 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,490,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 76.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 575,449 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,476,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,713,000 after purchasing an additional 409,292 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,895,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, 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 transaction of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,698,778.80. This represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. DA Davidson upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

FITB stock opened at $42.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.50 and a 200-day moving average of $43.67. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $33.03 and a 12-month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.13%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.

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