Insider Selling: Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Chairman Sells $608,850.00 in Stock

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total transaction of $608,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $61,719,936.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of AVY opened at $207.78 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $165.21 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.16. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 33.44%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVY. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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 an average target price of $239.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avery Dennison

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew 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 worth $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $185,292,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the first quarter valued at about $102,117,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1,429.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 262,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,107,000 after acquiring an additional 245,520 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the first quarter valued at about $44,837,000. 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.