The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its latest SEC filing. The institutional investor held 1,535,018 shares valued at $64,901,000 at the end of the quarter, representing 0.23% of the company’s stock.
Other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Fifth Third Bancorp. Norges Bank established a new stake worth $371,836,000, while PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holding by 4,128.0% to 1,860,320 shares valued at $78,654,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. also initiated a new position worth approximately $53,508,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake by 12.1% to 9,531,485 shares worth $402,991,000, and Raymond James Financial Inc. established a new position valued at about $38,971,000.
Insider Activity
Company insiders have also been adjusting their holdings. COO James C. Leonard sold 17,200 shares on February 19th at an average price of $44.26, reducing his stake by 6.57%. EVP Kevin P. Lavender sold 21,700 shares on February 20th at $43.55, decreasing his position by 14.22%.
Stock Performance
Fifth Third Bancorp’s stock opened at $36.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.16 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.93 and a 200-day moving average of $42.30.
Earnings Report
The company recently announced its quarterly earnings, reporting $0.73 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.70. Revenue was $2.14 billion, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37, representing a 4.09% dividend yield.
Analyst Ratings
Several equities analysts have issued recent reports on Fifth Third Bancorp. Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘outperform’ with a $47.00 target price. Royal Bank of Canada maintained an ‘outperform’ rating with a $47.00 price objective. The stock currently has an average rating of ‘Moderate Buy’ with a consensus target price of $46.24.
