Citigroup Inc. Purchases 19,248 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 83,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,248 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $18,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after acquiring an additional 35,538 shares in the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,261,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 32,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVY has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.96.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AVY opened at $204.71 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $210.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.41. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $187.93 and a 12 month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Avery Dennison’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.26%.

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.