Insider Selling: Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Chairman Sells 12,969 Shares of Stock

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AVY traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $183.94. 1,195,522 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,032. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.10. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $178.72 and a 52-week high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVY shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at about $188,643,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,521,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,185,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,014,000 after purchasing an additional 250,359 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,354,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 465,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,105,000 after buying an additional 208,678 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.