Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, a growth of 16.8% from the May 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 431,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $215.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.88. Avery Dennison has a twelve month low of $165.21 and a twelve month high of $231.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.14. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is 51.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 2,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.70, for a total transaction of $500,100.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,489.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 2,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.70, for a total transaction of $500,100.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,489.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.38, for a total value of $33,730.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,661.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $2,856,353. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,670,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,857,000 after purchasing an additional 493,857 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,673,000 after acquiring an additional 639,521 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $227,660,000 after acquiring an additional 35,538 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $185,292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.