10,549 Shares in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,974,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 485.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 35,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,715,000 after buying an additional 29,541 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth about $4,263,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 420,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,771,000 after purchasing an additional 46,390 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $171.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $175.13 and its 200 day moving average is $188.18. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $157.00 and a 12-month high of $233.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is presently 43.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVY. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.80.

Insider Activity

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Profile

Avery Dennison Corporation operates as a materials science and digital identification solutions company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Latin, America, and internationally. It provides pressure-sensitive materials comprising papers, plastic films, metal foils, and fabrics; performance tapes products, including tapes for wire harnessing, as well as cable wrapping for automotive, electrical, and general industrial applications; mechanical fasteners, which are precision-extruded and injection-molded plastic devices used in various automotive, general industrial, and retail applications; and other pressure-sensitive adhesive-based materials and converted products under the Fasson, JAC, Yongle, and Avery Dennison brands.