Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Stake Boosted by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 25.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,326,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,050,000 after purchasing an additional 27,771 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after purchasing an additional 35,538 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $172,254,000 after purchasing an additional 32,467 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after acquiring an additional 17,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 645,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,539,000 after acquiring an additional 156,189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AVY stock opened at $214.01 on Tuesday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $165.21 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.38 and a 200-day moving average of $218.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.44% and a net margin of 7.34%. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AVY shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $252.00 target price (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.60 target price on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $262.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.96.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,719,936.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $61,719,936.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total value of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $66,333,345.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,108 shares of company stock worth $12,545,087. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Company 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.