MQS Management LLC Invests $189,000 in Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fulton Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FULT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 10,450 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $189,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Fulton Financial by 511.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,256,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723,170 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 213.6% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,307,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,706,000 after purchasing an additional 890,630 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in shares of Fulton Financial by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 861,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,622,000 after purchasing an additional 630,152 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 710.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 699,652 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,880,000 after acquiring an additional 613,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Fulton Financial by 28.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,542,068 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,164,000 after acquiring an additional 567,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Fulton Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ FULT opened at $21.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.73. Fulton Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $13.84 and a twelve month high of $21.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $487.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.00 million. Fulton Financial had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fulton Financial Co. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Fulton Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Fulton Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FULT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on Fulton Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Fulton Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.83.

Fulton Financial Company 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.