Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 629,633 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,147,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 629,633 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 3.60% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $1,020,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,586,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $912,692,000 after acquiring an additional 812,385 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,219,000 after purchasing an additional 285,910 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $371,836,000. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was 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 available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the 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 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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.28. 3,219,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,490,591. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.41.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.43% and a return on equity of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.24.

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.