Maltese Capital Management LLC Has $4.41 Million Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Maltese Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 276.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,125 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fifth Third Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,264,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 719.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,012,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644,332 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,037,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $714,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,939 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 10,874,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 131.3% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,746,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of FITB opened at $53.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.88 and a 1 year high of $55.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.99.

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

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fifth Third Bancorp from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $53.00 to $54.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.34.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

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.