Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Boosts Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 31,817 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned about 0.12% of Avery Dennison worth $20,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 181,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after purchasing an additional 63,716 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 195.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,988,000 after buying an additional 11,811 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 365.9% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 4,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the first quarter valued at about $2,935,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 86.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,114,000 after acquiring an additional 15,092 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $211.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $215.56 and its 200 day moving average is $218.80. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $165.21 and a 1 year high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.16. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 33.44%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. Avery Dennison’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AVY. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,719,936.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $61,719,936.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,333,345.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,108 shares of company stock worth $12,545,087 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.