Argyle Capital Management LLC Purchases 6,600 Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC's holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,959,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,219,000 after acquiring an additional 285,910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,135,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $597,692,000 after purchasing an additional 823,803 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,531,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,044 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,836,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,111,000 after purchasing an additional 798,663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FITB. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fifth Third Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:FITB opened at $43.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.08. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 17.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Fifth Third Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Fifth Third Bancorp 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.

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