Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Holdings in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,674 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Fulton Financial were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fulton Financial by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Fulton Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Fulton Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Fulton Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

FULT opened at $17.51 on Friday. Fulton Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $9.64 and a fifty-two week high of $17.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.62 and its 200 day moving average is $15.31.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. Fulton Financial had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 18.31%. The firm had revenue of $230.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fulton Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Fulton Financial’s payout ratio is 42.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on Fulton Financial from $15.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Fulton Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Fulton Financial from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fulton Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Fulton Financial Profile

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.