Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 125.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,200 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.25% of Avery Dennison worth $38,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,225,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $790,683,000 after acquiring an additional 150,572 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 63,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,844,000 after acquiring an additional 7,171 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 174,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,699 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,572 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of AVY stock traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $170.57. The company had a trading volume of 156,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,575. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $157.00 and a 12-month high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.99 and a 200-day moving average of $188.99. The company has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped 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 note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

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 shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.84% 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.