Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Stake Boosted by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,715,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 133.4% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,320,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 192.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 7,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 736.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 142,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,080,000 after buying an additional 125,691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total value of $1,069,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,305,217.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AVY traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $217.88. 69,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,169. The firm has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.13. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $158.93 and a 52-week high of $225.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AVY shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.60.

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.