Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 9,000 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 278.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVY. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.05.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $190.57 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.44. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $181.99 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. The trade was a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Avery Dennison

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.