H. B. Fuller Company $FUL Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Key Points

• Brown Advisory reduced its stake in H. B. Fuller by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,185 shares and ending with 796,477 shares worth about $47.4 million. Despite the sale, institutional ownership remains very high at 95.93%.
• H. B. Fuller posted a slight earnings beat in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus the $0.56 estimate, though revenue of $770.84 million came in below expectations and fell 2.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.245 per share from $0.24, implying an annualized dividend of $0.98 and a yield of about 1.5%. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $63.80.

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 796,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 57,185 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 1.47% of H. B. Fuller worth $47,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,583,213 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $153,133,000 after acquiring an additional 12,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,475,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $147,193,000 after acquiring an additional 61,102 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,677,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $99,754,000 after acquiring an additional 196,644 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,228,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $73,021,000 after acquiring an additional 66,686 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,108,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $65,897,000 after acquiring an additional 287,390 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 acquired 5,170 shares of H. B. Fuller stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.08 per share, with a total value of $295,103.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 8,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,883.60. This represents a 147.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.83% of the company's stock.

H. B. Fuller Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FUL opened at $64.34 on Tuesday. H. B. Fuller Company has a 12-month low of $48.71 and a 12-month high of $68.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.97.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $770.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.77 million. H. B. Fuller had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This is a positive change from H. B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. H. B. Fuller's payout ratio is currently 32.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FUL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group set a $58.00 price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of H. B. Fuller from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $58.00 price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.80.

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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