Investment Firm Adds 44 Million Shares of Avon to Portfolio

Companies and Brands

Published: July 10, 2015 1:35 pm

Last Updated: April 27, 2020 11:41 pm

In a Schedule 13G filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Capital Research Global Investors, a division of investment firm Capital Research and Management Company, revealed that it has raised its stake in Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) to 48,993,600 shares as of June 30, 2015. At the end of March, Capital Research reported ownership of 4,875,300 shares of Avon stock.

Capital Research now owns 11.3% of Avon’s outstanding stock. The filing does not indicate how much the firm paid for the stock, but at Thursday’s closing price of $5.97 per share, the value of Capital Research’s holdings is nearly $294 million. It is probably safe to assume that the investment firm paid less than that for the stock.

The news follows by a day the announcement by Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) that it purchased Procter & Gamble Co.’s (NYSE: PG) cosmetics brands for $12.5 billion. Before coming public in 2013, Coty offered to acquire Avon for something more than $10 billion, an offer that Avon refused as being inadequate. Avon’s market value today is around $2.6 billion.

Earlier this week, Avon sold its U.K.-based Liz Earle cosmetics brand to Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) for about $216 million.

While no further announcements have been forthcoming from either Avon or Capital Research, it is a fair bet that we will be hearing something any day now.

Avon shares traded down about 1% to a new 52-week low of $5.90 on Friday. The 52-week high was $14.49.

ALSO READ: 5 Big Defensive Dividend Stocks to Buy Trading at Deep Discounts

Is Your Money Earning the Best Possible Rate? ^(Sponsor)

Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.

However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.

There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!