Congruence Capital LLC Makes New $10.05 Million Investment in H. B. Fuller Company $FUL

Key Points

• Congruence Capital LLC opened a new position in H. B. Fuller, buying 168,992 shares worth about $10.05 million. The stake represents about 3.7% of its holdings and roughly 0.31% of the company.
• Insider buying and institutional interest were notable, with CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin purchasing 5,170 shares in April. Other funds such as Barclays, Bridgewater, and Johnson Investment Counsel also increased their stakes.
• H. B. Fuller’s stock was trading around $63.64, near its 52-week high of $68.63, and analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with a $63.80 price target. The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.245 per share.

Congruence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 168,992 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $10,048,000. H. B. Fuller makes up about 3.7% of Congruence Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Congruence Capital LLC owned approximately 0.31% of H. B. Fuller at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in H. B. Fuller by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,360 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,194,000 after acquiring an additional 7,477 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in H. B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at $134,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 49,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 37,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 20,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at H. B. Fuller

In other H. B. Fuller news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 5,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.08 per share, with a total value of $295,103.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,670 shares in the company, valued at $494,883.60. This trade represents a 147.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $58.00 price objective on H. B. Fuller in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Vertical Research raised H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded H. B. Fuller from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of H. B. Fuller from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.80.

H. B. Fuller Trading Up 0.1%

FUL stock opened at $63.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.90. H. B. Fuller Company has a 52 week low of $48.71 and a 52 week high of $68.63.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.62%.The firm had revenue of $770.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $787.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.245 per share. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This is an increase from H. B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. H. B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.34%.

H. B. Fuller Company Profile

H. B. Fuller Company, founded in 1887 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a global adhesives and specialty chemical solutions provider serving a wide array of industries. The company develops, manufactures and markets adhesive technologies, sealants, polymers and related chemical products designed to enhance product performance, sustainability and manufacturing efficiency.

Fuller's product portfolio spans multiple market segments, including packaging and converting, general industrial assembly, electronics, transportation, hygiene and construction.

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