State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,735 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,116 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,735 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $5,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the first quarter valued at about $102,117,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 795.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 160,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,190,000 after buying an additional 142,348 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 179.5% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 216,135 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,258,000 after buying an additional 138,808 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 240,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,497,000 after buying an additional 81,993 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3,517.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 80,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,701,000 after buying an additional 78,748 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.8 %

AVY traded down $1.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.98. 143,323 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,910. The company's fifty day moving average price is $214.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $178.29 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group cut shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.96.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.91, for a total value of $2,119,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,444,797.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $66,333,345.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.91, for a total transaction of $2,119,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,444,797.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,108 shares of company stock worth $7,940,597 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.