Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Acquired by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 41.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,501 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $5,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE AVY opened at $177.68 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $233.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.32%.

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.