Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,115 Shares of Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 879,350 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,115 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $16,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 373.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $152,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $186,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Fulton Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $196,000. 72.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of FULT opened at $22.72 on Tuesday. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.32 and a 1-year high of $22.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.86.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $336.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.80 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 12.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a boost from Fulton Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Fulton Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fulton Financial news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,075.35. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fulton Financial Company Profile

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.