Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,550 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,908 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Fulton Financial worth $2,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 357,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 63,321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 7,309 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 16,041.2% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 187.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 92,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 60,005 shares in the last quarter. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FULT opened at $18.38 on Thursday. 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 $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.43. Fulton Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $13.87 and a twelve month high of $22.49.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 45.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Fulton Financial

In related news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total value of $275,632.18. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

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.