Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $185.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a buy rating to an underperform rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $199.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $221.00.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $211.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Avery Dennison has a 12-month low of $158.93 and a 12-month high of $225.26.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total transaction of $1,074,202.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 111.3% in the 1st quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 262,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,967 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avery Dennison by 0.8% during the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 48 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.