Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 60,774 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lowered its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 84.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 60,774 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVY. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.1%

AVY traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,306,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,362. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, 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 quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.93. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $157.00 and a 52 week high of $233.48.

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 firm 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 business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVY shares. Argus cut Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.60.

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.