Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Fulton Financial stake by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 221,819 shares and leaving it with 182,029 shares valued at about $3.52 million.
• Fulton Financial’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $0.55 EPS versus the $0.50 consensus, though revenue of $331.86 million came in below estimates.
• The stock traded around $21.44 and offers a quarterly dividend of $0.19, or a 3.5% annualized yield; analysts currently have an average Hold rating with a $23 price target.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Free Report) by 54.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 182,029 shares of the bank's stock after selling 221,819 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.10% of Fulton Financial worth $3,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,069,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 2,825.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,021,992 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,040,000 after purchasing an additional 987,057 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,583,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,753,000 after purchasing an additional 723,948 shares during the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,895,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,323,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FULT. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson began coverage on Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Fulton Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.00.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of FULT opened at $21.44 on Friday. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $16.60 and a 52-week high of $22.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 20.85%.The business had revenue of $331.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $107,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 80,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,723,817.34. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Fulton Financial

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.

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