Argyle Capital Management Inc. Has $1.15 Million Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $1,145,000 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. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 83.0% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on FITB shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kala Gibson sold 14,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total transaction of $540,497.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,981.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,474,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,563,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.46 and a 52 week high of $37.41. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.32.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.