H. B. Fuller Company $FUL Shares Purchased by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in H. B. Fuller by 35% in Q4 to 1,108,261 shares (about 2.04% of the company), valued at roughly $65.9 million.
• CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 5,170 shares at an average $57.08, increasing her holding 147.7% to 8,670 shares.
• H. B. Fuller raised its quarterly dividend to $0.245 (annualized $0.98) for a dividend yield of about 1.7%, with record date April 30 and payment on May 14.

UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,108,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 287,390 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 2.04% of H. B. Fuller worth $65,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FUL. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 0.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 50,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,037,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Glenmede Investment Management LP increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 3.9% during the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 4,809 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 1.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 2.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 2.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin purchased 5,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.08 per share, for a total transaction of $295,103.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,670 shares in the company, valued at $494,883.60. The trade was a 147.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FUL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of H. B. Fuller in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.50.

H. B. Fuller Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:FUL opened at $58.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $60.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.45. H. B. Fuller Company has a 12-month low of $48.71 and a 12-month high of $68.63.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $770.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $787.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from H. B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. H. B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.34%.

About H. B. Fuller

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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