Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,715,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 133.4% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,264 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 192.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 7,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 736.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 142,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total transaction of $1,074,202.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,940.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total transaction of $1,074,202.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,940.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,383.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVY. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $219.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.36. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $158.93 and a 52-week high of $225.26.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 47.30%.

Avery Dennison 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.