Jane Street Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 75,731 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $6,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the third quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $175,261,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $172,254,000 after acquiring an additional 32,467 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Avery Dennison by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $154,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 688,417 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVY. StockNews.com lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $757,874.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AVY traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $195.14. The company had a trading volume of 375,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,958. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $193.49 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $206.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

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.