Royce & Associates LP Decreases Stock Position in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,348 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 27,014 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $487,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 357,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 63,321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 7,309 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In related news, President Angela M. Snyder sold 13,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.69, for a total transaction of $275,632.18. Following the sale, the president now owns 63,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,580.58. This trade represents a 17.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on FULT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on Fulton Financial from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

FULT opened at $18.02 on Friday. Fulton Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $13.87 and a 12-month high of $22.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.76.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is currently 45.86%.

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.