Mizuho Bank Ltd. Sells 170 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. cut its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $34,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVY. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Avery Dennison by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $170.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.27. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $168.77 and a one year high of $233.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Insider Activity

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

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.