Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Has $948,000 Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 354.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 278.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 13,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AVY shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avery Dennison from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.60.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison 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 transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.1%

AVY opened at $180.29 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.14. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $157.00 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.