Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 757 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 757 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 5.8% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 292,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,450,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 818,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,088,000 after acquiring an additional 12,905 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $1,011,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 49.5% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 47,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,448.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 98,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 91,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on FITB shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.38.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FITB opened at $44.22 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.07 and its 200 day moving average is $40.56. The company has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.95. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.25 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.69%.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.