Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 805,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,872 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $34,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FITB. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 318.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 886.9% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 8,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 7,689 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $945,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares in the company, valued at $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 244,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 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.