Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 74,700 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,528 shares during the quarter. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Fulton Financial by 193.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Fulton Financial by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,455 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:FULT opened at $17.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.76. Fulton Financial Co. has a one year low of $13.87 and a one year high of $22.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.42.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 45.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FULT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Fulton Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens upgraded Fulton Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.64.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In other 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 63,682 shares in the company, valued at $1,317,580.58. This trade represents a 17.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.