Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Stake Decreased by Natixis

Natixis reduced its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 87.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 95,082 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,862 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,220,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.80.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $3.14 on Friday, reaching $170.48. 694,913 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,427. The business's 50-day moving average is $176.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.44. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $157.00 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is presently 43.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.