GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $217,000 in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after buying an additional 1,163,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 55.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,673,000 after purchasing an additional 639,521 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 22.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,670,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,857,000 after purchasing an additional 493,857 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 43.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,007,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,026,000 after purchasing an additional 307,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 27.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 958,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $175,142,000 after purchasing an additional 206,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVY. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.60.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $217.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $158.93 and a one year high of $225.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $215.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total transaction of $1,074,202.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.