Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 13,300 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,300 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $5,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $496,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 63,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,396,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AVY shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus downgraded Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,891,897. This represents a 2.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $3.19 on Friday, reaching $176.47. 136,566 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 764,780. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $157.00 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $174.14 and its 200-day moving average is $184.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Avery Dennison's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 2.13%. 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. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.32%.

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.