Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.51.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVY. 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $182.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $186.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.10. Avery Dennison has a fifty-two week low of $178.72 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,681,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,811,738,000 after acquiring an additional 33,149 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,225,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $790,683,000 after buying an additional 150,572 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,185,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,014,000 after purchasing an additional 250,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $392,445,000 after acquiring an additional 13,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,841,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,603,000 after buying an additional 71,435 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.