Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 9,024 Shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,024 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVY has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Argus cut shares of Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 749,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,545. Avery Dennison Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $157.00 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $175.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.99.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Corporation 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.32%.

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.