Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $206.60.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AVY shares. Argus lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

AVY opened at $174.40 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $175.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.35. Avery Dennison has a 52-week low of $157.00 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.32%.

Institutional Trading of Avery Dennison

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,643,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 19,370.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428,730 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,301,000 after purchasing an additional 426,528 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 905.0% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 324,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,503,000 after purchasing an additional 291,848 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,959,263 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,772,450,000 after purchasing an additional 277,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% 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.

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