Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 2,745 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,745 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,428,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $492,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,653 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,413,000 after buying an additional 393,937 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 32.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,076,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176,903 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,600,000 after acquiring an additional 253,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,335,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,518,000 after acquiring an additional 478,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fifth Third Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $39.50 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $38.65 on Friday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $38.71. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.15 and a 200-day moving average of $32.99.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total value of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,857 shares of company stock worth $1,787,638 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.