Allstate Corp Takes $429,000 Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 15,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 51,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,724,000 after acquiring an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,855 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,643,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVY. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.87.

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Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE:AVY traded down $4.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $166.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,821,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,174. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $181.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.64. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $162.53 and a 12-month high of $233.48.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison 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.