Citigroup Inc. Purchases 19,248 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 19,248 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.10% of Avery Dennison worth $18,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 6.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,772,000 after purchasing an additional 90,250 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after purchasing an additional 35,538 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,261,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Avery Dennison by 4.3% during 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 buying an additional 32,467 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,431,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVY. Bank of America raised shares of Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.96.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $204.71 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $187.93 and a 1 year high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.26%.

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.