Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,596 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.24% of H.B. Fuller worth $8,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in H.B. Fuller by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 554,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,448,000 after buying an additional 81,558 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in H.B. Fuller by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,630,000 after buying an additional 15,100 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 28,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 13,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company's stock.

H.B. Fuller Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE FUL traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.22. 216,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,462. H.B. Fuller has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $87.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $788.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. H.B. Fuller's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. H.B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of H.B. Fuller from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W raised shares of H.B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of H.B. Fuller from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H.B. Fuller presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin purchased 3,500 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.66 per share, for a total transaction of $198,310.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,310. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

About H.B. Fuller

H.B. Fuller Company, together with its subsidiaries, formulates, manufactures, and markets adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, tapes, encapsulants, additives, and other specialty chemical products. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives.