PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 89,530 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 66.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 89,530 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Avery Dennison worth $9,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 164.4% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 185.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 250.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AVY opened at $227.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.84. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $163.83 and a 52-week high of $230.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.91.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.14. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.32 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.20, for a total transaction of $657,516.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.20, for a total value of $657,516.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Francisco Melo sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.00, for a total transaction of $851,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $2,856,353. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVY. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.50.

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.