Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Fulton Financial Corporation by 1.3%, holding 22,103,691 shares worth approximately $399.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Fulton Financial reported a better than expected EPS of $0.55 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.43.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $21.13 for Fulton Financial, with six analysts rating it as a "hold" and one as a "buy."

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,103,691 shares of the bank's stock after selling 279,813 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.13% of Fulton Financial worth $399,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FULT. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Fulton Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,997 shares of the bank's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 2.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,552 shares of the bank's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 5.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Fulton Financial by 15.1% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the bank's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FULT shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Fulton Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 599,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,029,467.82. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fulton Financial Trading Up 0.3%

FULT stock traded up $0.0550 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.6350. The company had a trading volume of 368,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,688. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.34 and a 200-day moving average of $18.05. Fulton Financial Corporation has a one year low of $14.32 and a one year high of $22.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $328.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $320.47 million. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 17.00%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

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.