Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $78.24 Million Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 418,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 199,512 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $78,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at $1,461,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,956. This represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY opened at $182.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $178.72 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is 40.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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, StockNews.com lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.15.

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.