Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 54.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,328,889 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 468,081 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $27,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 89.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fulton Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fulton Financial Trading Down 1.0%

FULT opened at $24.54 on Tuesday. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $16.60 and a 52 week high of $25.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.79.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $331.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.19%.

Insider Activity at Fulton Financial

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of Fulton Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $120,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,822,014.78. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FULT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fulton Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Fulton Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $23.00 price target on Fulton Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.50.

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.