Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AVY. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Avery Dennison from $199.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Avery Dennison from $185.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Avery Dennison from a buy rating to an underperform rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $221.00.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $212.42 on Monday. Avery Dennison has a 1-year low of $158.93 and a 1-year high of $225.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $215.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.90.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 30.97% and a net margin of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Avery Dennison’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,069,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,305,217.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the business’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 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,305,217.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,715,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 133.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $240,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 7,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 736.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 142,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125,691 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.