Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 640 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 460,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,776,000 after buying an additional 55,081 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $42.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 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 fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $49.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.61.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FITB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fifth Third Bancorp

In other news, EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $945,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 130,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,698,778.80. This trade represents a 14.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $761,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 244,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,820,994.62. The trade was a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.