Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Purchases 7,144 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 239,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,144 shares during the quarter. Avery Dennison accounts for approximately 0.8% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned approximately 0.30% of Avery Dennison worth $52,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.1 %

AVY traded down $2.18 on Friday, hitting $197.73. The company had a trading volume of 460,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,220. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $186.66 and a 12-month high of $233.48. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.52.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.18 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. The trade was a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 27,108 shares of company stock valued at $5,821,497 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVY. Citigroup decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.96.

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.