Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,426 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.27% of Avery Dennison worth $44,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,182,000. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 84,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 106,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.3 %

AVY stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $218.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,401. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $158.93 and a 12 month high of $225.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.58.

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

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

Avery Dennison Company 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.