Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,363,509 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 203,708 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 1.85% of Fulton Financial worth $62,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial in the second quarter worth $37,813,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 42.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,626,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,495 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the second quarter worth about $22,069,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,753,000 after acquiring an additional 723,948 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 914.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 308,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after purchasing an additional 277,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FULT opened at $20.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.76 and its 200-day moving average is $19.35. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.32 and a 12-month high of $22.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.85.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $336.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.80 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.59%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Fulton Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FULT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Fulton Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,671,075.35. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

Fulton Financial Corporation, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker FULT, is the financial holding company for Fulton Bank, headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company delivers a broad range of banking and financial services through its subsidiary, Fulton Bank, targeting both individual and corporate clients. Fulton Financial’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, treasury management, and specialized banking services designed to support personal wealth goals and business growth initiatives.

Through Fulton Bank, the company provides retail banking services such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, and home equity products.