Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,862 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.80.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

AVY traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $174.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,876. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $233.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is a boost from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is 43.32%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.