Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15,491.4% during the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,875,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,433,000 after buying an additional 8,818,187 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,477,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,229,625,000 after buying an additional 7,062,005 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $185,924,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 58,769,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,565,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Fifth Third Bancorp by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 33,243,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,090,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FITB. StockNews.com upgraded Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $40.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fifth Third Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ FITB traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $26.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,221,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,131,831. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.21 and its 200-day moving average is $26.76. The stock has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.11 and a 52 week high of $38.06.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 16.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Saturday, September 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This is an increase from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The company's Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers.