MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Fulton Financial Corporation $FULT

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,109 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Fulton Financial by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in Fulton Financial by 114.5% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Fulton Financial by 15.1% during the 1st 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. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Fulton Financial by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in Fulton Financial by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 9,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FULT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fulton Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

FULT opened at $19.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.98. Fulton Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.32 and a 1-year high of $22.49.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fulton Financial Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fulton Financial

In related news, Director E Philip Wenger sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 599,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,467.82. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.