KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Reduces Stake in H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in H. B. Fuller were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller in the 1st quarter valued at $36,830,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,630,000 after purchasing an additional 15,100 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 4.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 731.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H. B. Fuller Price Performance

FUL opened at $58.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.34. H. B. Fuller Company has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $87.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.12.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $898.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.87 million. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 2.92%. H. B. Fuller’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

H. B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. H. B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FUL shares. Baird R W raised H. B. Fuller from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on H. B. Fuller from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on H. B. Fuller from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.25.

Insider Transactions at H. B. Fuller

In other H. B. Fuller news, VP Robert J. Martsching sold 9,546 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $613,807.80. Following the sale, the vice president owned 14,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,214. This trade represents a 38.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

H. B. Fuller Profile

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.