H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,931 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,506 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in H.B. Fuller were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 731.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,630,000 after acquiring an additional 15,100 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at about $783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin acquired 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.66 per share, with a total value of $198,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,310. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H.B. Fuller Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of FUL traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 116,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,375. H.B. Fuller has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $87.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.34 and its 200 day moving average is $61.43.

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

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This is an increase from H.B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FUL. Seaport Res Ptn lowered H.B. Fuller from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W raised H.B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised H.B. Fuller from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.50.

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.