Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 778,741 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,191,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 778,741 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $55,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,948,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,929,647,000 after acquiring an additional 637,207 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 32,549,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,361 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,437,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,484,021,000 after acquiring an additional 101,245 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,939,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,120,586,000 after acquiring an additional 530,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,224,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $945,556,000 after acquiring an additional 546,914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $67.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research lowered Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore increased their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.34.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $53.52 on Wednesday. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $37.88 and a 52 week high of $55.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin J. Khanna sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.77, for a total value of $304,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,700.23. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter L. Sefzik sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $1,009,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 189,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,556,215.72. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.