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

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 577.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,769 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned 0.08% of Avery Dennison worth $13,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 164.4% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the first quarter worth $64,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the first quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 250.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Argus increased their target price on Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avery Dennison news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.31, for a total transaction of $129,245.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,939.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.38, for a total value of $33,730.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,661.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 584 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.31, for a total transaction of $129,245.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,939.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,583 shares of company stock valued at $2,856,353. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $212.95 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.30. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $165.21 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The company has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

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.