916,563 Shares in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 916,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,292,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.14% of Avery Dennison as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in Avery Dennison by 164.4% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,217.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,212 shares of company stock worth $4,652,269 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY opened at $229.22 on Thursday. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $158.93 and a twelve month high of $229.98. The company has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $219.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.14. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. On average, analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.50.

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.