BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Holdings in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FUL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in H.B. Fuller by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 731.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at $783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company's stock.

H.B. Fuller Stock Up 3.4%

NYSE:FUL traded up $1.82 on Tuesday, hitting $56.04. The stock had a trading volume of 261,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,384. H.B. Fuller has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $87.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $54.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.13.

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

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. H.B. Fuller's payout ratio is presently 47.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at H.B. Fuller

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin purchased 3,500 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.66 per share, for a total transaction of $198,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $198,310. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.