Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $244.96.

AVY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of AVY stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.19. The company had a trading volume of 460,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,703. The company has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $210.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.41. Avery Dennison has a one year low of $188.92 and a one year high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Avery Dennison's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avery Dennison will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is 42.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Avery Dennison

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVY. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 100.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.