Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,455 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $99,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP increased its position in Fulton Financial by 13.5% during the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 13,418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Fulton Financial in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,297 shares of the bank’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 22,737 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FULT opened at $20.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.29. Fulton Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $13.87 and a 52 week high of $22.49. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.06. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 11.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.86%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president now owns 63,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,580.58. This represents a 17.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Curtis J. Myers sold 24,192 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,299,817.36. This trade represents a 13.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on FULT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 target price on Fulton Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.64.

About Fulton Financial

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.