Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Bought by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,563 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Avery Dennison worth $22,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 63,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $11,396,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $1,702,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVY. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.60.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $177.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 586,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,831. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $157.00 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $173.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.47. 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 has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS 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 given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. 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.