Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Reduces Stake in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 88.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,083 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 87,323 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,544,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,166,000 after buying an additional 444,219 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fulton Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,371,223 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,264,000 after acquiring an additional 85,574 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,358,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,752,000 after acquiring an additional 31,754 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,908,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,601,000 after acquiring an additional 77,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,051,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,279,000 after purchasing an additional 44,237 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 3.8 %

FULT opened at $18.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.79. Fulton Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $13.87 and a 52 week high of $22.49.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 15.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Fulton Financial news, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $511,902.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,299,817.36. This represents a 13.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total transaction of $275,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 63,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,317,580.58. The trade was a 17.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FULT shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Fulton Financial from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens raised Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Fulton Financial Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. It accepts various checking accounts and savings deposit products, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.