Entropy Technologies LP Invests $581,000 in H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP acquired 10,346 shares of H. B. Fuller Company, valued at approximately $581,000, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors in the specialty chemicals sector.
• Insider selling activity has been notable, with VP Robert J. Martsching selling 9,546 shares for $613,807.80, indicating a 38.92% decrease in his position.
• H. B. Fuller’s stock has shown significant analyst attention, with Robert W. Baird raising its target price from $60.00 to $75.00 and issuing an "outperform" rating.

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,346 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $990,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,830,000. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at H. B. Fuller

In other news, VP Robert J. Martsching sold 9,546 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $613,807.80. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 14,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $963,214. This trade represents a 38.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Joao Magalhaes sold 1,099 shares of H. B. Fuller stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.31, for a total value of $61,884.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,285 shares in the company, valued at $184,978.35. This trade represents a 25.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,691 shares of company stock worth $734,478. Insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

H. B. Fuller Trading Down 0.8%

FUL stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.90. H. B. Fuller Company has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $85.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.13.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.08. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $898.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

H. B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. H. B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on FUL. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on H. B. Fuller from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of H. B. Fuller from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, H. B. Fuller currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.25.

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.