Merit Financial Group LLC Has $277,000 Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVY. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at about $496,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,396,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $177.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.91. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $233.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AVY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus cut shares of Avery Dennison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.60.

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.