Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Acquired by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,931 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,742 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.08% of Avery Dennison worth $12,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 14,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,358,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $409,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 186,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,933,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $550,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVY. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.80.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of AVY stock traded down $3.14 on Friday, reaching $170.48. 694,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,280. The company has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50 day moving average price is $176.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.80. 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 twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

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.