Versor Investments LP Purchases New Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth approximately $102,117,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 795.2% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 179.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 51.9% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3,517.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVY has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased 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 decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.96.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.93. 162,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 465,961. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $182.68 and a 52-week high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 42.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $64,444,797.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,444,797.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,333,345.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,108 shares of company stock valued at $7,940,597. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Company 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.