Insider Selling: Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Director E. Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares on April 13 at an average price of $21.42 for $107,100, reducing his stake by 5.85% to 80,477 shares, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Capital returns: Fulton declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share (annualized $0.76, ~3.5% yield; ex-dividend April 1) and its board authorized a $150 million share buyback program (up to ~4.2% of outstanding shares).
• Recent results and outlook: Fulton reported QEPS of $0.55 (beating the $0.52 estimate), has a market cap of ~$3.9B and a P/E of 10.44, while analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $21.50.

Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $107,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 80,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,817.34. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fulton Financial Price Performance

Shares of FULT traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $21.72. 1,513,478 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,063,445. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average price is $20.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.58. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $15.52 and a 52-week high of $22.99.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $336.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.80 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Fulton Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Fulton Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fulton Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FULT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,706 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,242 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,096 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,955,000 after buying an additional 4,727 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 5.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 448,832 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,119,000 after buying an additional 21,596 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial by 914.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 308,243 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,576,000 after buying an additional 277,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FULT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.50.

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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