Norden Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,213,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 181,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,675,000 after purchasing an additional 63,716 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at $2,715,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 133.4% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,320,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 2,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.70, for a total transaction of $500,100.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,489.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 2,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.70, for a total transaction of $500,100.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,489.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.20, for a total transaction of $657,516.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $2,856,353. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.4 %

AVY stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.93. 216,252 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,851. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $165.21 and a 1-year high of $231.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.14. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus boosted their target price on Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

Avery Dennison 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.