EHP Funds Inc. Makes New $487,000 Investment in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

EHP Funds Inc. purchased a new position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVY. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

AVY stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 292,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,641. The company's fifty day moving average is $173.77 and its 200-day moving average is $186.66. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $157.00 and a 1 year high of $233.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.32%.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.