Gabelli Funds LLC Has $20.23 Million Position in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 299,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 8,900 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in H.B. Fuller were worth $20,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FUL. Amundi boosted its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 191.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 28,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 79.8% in 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 buying an additional 324,056 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 17.2% during 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 buying an additional 81,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 18,734 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

H.B. Fuller Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FUL opened at $53.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. H.B. Fuller has a 12 month low of $47.56 and a 12 month high of $87.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.07. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $788.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.55 million. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Investors 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 1.75%. This is an increase from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is presently 44.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FUL. Citigroup reduced 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Vertical Research cut H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded H.B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, H.B. Fuller currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Insider Transactions at H.B. Fuller

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 3,500 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.66 per share, with a total value of $198,310.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,310. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

H.B. Fuller Company 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.