Kennedy Capital Management LLC Buys 15,100 Shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,100 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of H.B. Fuller worth $8,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $99,939,000 after purchasing an additional 18,734 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in H.B. Fuller by 79.8% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 730,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,952,000 after purchasing an additional 324,056 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 13,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 554,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $37,448,000 after acquiring an additional 81,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FUL. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Vertical Research cut shares of H.B. Fuller from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.33.

H.B. Fuller Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE FUL traded down $0.92 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.64. 117,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,393. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.07. H.B. Fuller has a twelve month low of $47.56 and a twelve month high of $87.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $788.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from H.B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin acquired 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.66 per share, for a total transaction of $198,310.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,310. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

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.