Financial Counselors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.07% of Avery Dennison worth $9,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 49,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,821 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 126.1% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 13,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 1.3 %

AVY opened at $178.04 on Thursday. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $173.02 and a one year high of $233.48. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $183.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVY has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.51.

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.