Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning decreased its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 796 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 22.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,670,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,857,000 after acquiring an additional 493,857 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 55.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,673,000 after purchasing an additional 639,521 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,292,000. Finally, Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 760,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,804,000 after purchasing an additional 102,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AVY. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up 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. 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 research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of AVY opened at $216.83 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.87. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $165.21 and a 1 year high of $231.53.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

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.