Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the quarter. Avery Dennison comprises about 3.1% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.99% of Avery Dennison worth $175,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVY. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 3.3% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.0% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 6,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.75, for a total value of $2,137,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $65,004,367.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, 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 value of $1,550,396.96. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.75, for a total transaction of $2,137,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,004,367.50. 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 59,108 shares of company stock worth $12,545,087 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.78.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock traded down $1.03 on Friday, reaching $217.33. 427,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,212. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.88. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $165.21 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $216.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.78.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.44% and a net margin of 7.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

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.