Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Raises Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 354.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,954 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVY. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,823,000. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,401,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth $1,580,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock traded down $2.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $179.27. The stock had a trading volume of 72,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,301. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $157.00 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average is $184.45.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities 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 an average target price of $206.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.