Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.49 Million Position in H. B. Fuller Company $FUL

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in H. B. Fuller during the first quarter, buying 24,100 shares worth about $1.49 million.
• Other institutional investors have also been active in the stock, and institutions now own 95.93% of H. B. Fuller shares, highlighting strong professional interest.
• H. B. Fuller reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.41 and revenue of $950.27 million, while analysts mostly remain constructive with an average Moderate Buy rating and a price target of $67.86.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,486,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FUL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H. B. Fuller during the fourth quarter worth $44,203,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of H. B. Fuller by 200.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 820,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,661,000 after buying an additional 548,017 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 1,379.5% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 383,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $22,830,000 after acquiring an additional 358,003 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 820,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,772,000 after acquiring an additional 281,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its stake in H. B. Fuller by 287.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 371,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $22,031,000 after acquiring an additional 275,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on FUL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of H. B. Fuller from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $69.00 price objective on H. B. Fuller in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on H. B. Fuller from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised H. B. Fuller from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of H. B. Fuller in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.86.

Insider Activity

In other H. B. Fuller news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin acquired 5,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.08 per share, for a total transaction of $295,103.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,883.60. This trade represents a 147.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

H. B. Fuller Price Performance

FUL stock opened at $57.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.28. H. B. Fuller Company has a 1 year low of $48.71 and a 1 year high of $68.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $950.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 5.29%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.245 per share. This is an increase from H. B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. H. B. Fuller's payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

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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