Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $38.11 Million Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 125.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 203,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,200 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.25% of Avery Dennison worth $38,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased 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, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.80.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE:AVY traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $170.39. The stock had a trading volume of 931,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,785. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $157.00 and a 12-month high of $233.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released 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). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Avery Dennison's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.