Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,096,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 124,736 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Fifth Third Bancorp worth $46,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FITB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $371,836,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 4,128.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,860,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,320 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,508,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,971,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $597,692,000 after buying an additional 823,803 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

FITB stock opened at $38.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.49. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $33.82 and a 52 week high of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp 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 owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. The trade was a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,820,994.62. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

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.