Meritage Portfolio Management Has $5.30 Million Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp $FITB

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,832 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $5,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,905 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $1,011,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 91,754 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Down 5.3%

FITB stock opened at $41.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.72. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $32.25 and a one year high of $49.07. The stock has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95.

Fifth Third Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.20.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company 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.