Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 810,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.04% of Avery Dennison worth $144,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 393 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 4,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $178.66. 519,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 651,994. Avery Dennison Corporation has a 12-month low of $157.00 and a 12-month high of $233.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $179.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.53.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 7.98% and a return on equity of 33.11%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Avery Dennison's 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 fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.50.

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.