IFG Advisory LLC Invests $301,000 in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT)

Key Points

• IFG Advisory LLC has acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial Corporation, purchasing 16,619 shares valued at approximately $301,000.
• Institutional investors currently hold 72.02% of Fulton Financial's shares, with significant increases in stakes reported by firms such as Millennium Management and JPMorgan Chase during the past quarter.
• Fulton Financial reported $0.55 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.43 and indicating strong financial performance.

IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,619 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,321,387 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,316,000 after acquiring an additional 216,118 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,517,149 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,530,000 after acquiring an additional 47,338 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,770,377 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,133,000 after acquiring an additional 675,819 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,478,735 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,510,000 after acquiring an additional 886,991 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its position in Fulton Financial by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 1,333,772 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,715,000 after acquiring an additional 652,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.02% of the company's stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FULT stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.84. The company had a trading volume of 381,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,841. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $18.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Fulton Financial Corporation has a one year low of $14.32 and a one year high of $22.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $328.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.47 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. Fulton Financial's payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.41, for a total value of $92,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 599,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,029,467.82. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.