KBC Group NV Buys 2,192 Shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,420 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Avery Dennison by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $130,821,000 after purchasing an additional 10,674 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth about $386,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVY shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.1%

AVY traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $183.24. The stock had a trading volume of 339,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,308. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87. Avery Dennison Corporation has a 52 week low of $157.00 and a 52 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $177.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.09.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 7.98%. Avery Dennison's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Corporation will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is 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.