First City Capital Management Inc. Has $1.97 Million Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

First City Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Avery Dennison accounts for about 1.1% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,326,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,050,000 after buying an additional 27,771 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after purchasing an additional 35,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $172,254,000 after purchasing an additional 32,467 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 760,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,804,000 after purchasing an additional 102,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,297,000 after purchasing an additional 17,158 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.9 %

AVY stock opened at $211.58 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $165.21 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $215.56 and a 200-day moving average of $218.82. The company has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 33.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total value of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $66,333,345.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total transaction of $608,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,719,936.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total value of $1,550,396.96. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,545,087 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $252.00 price target (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.36.

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.