Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $27.81 Million Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,317 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.16% of Avery Dennison worth $27,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Avery Dennison by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.0% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.96.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,956. This represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.14. 375,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 473,958. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $193.49 and a twelve month high of $233.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $206.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

Avery Dennison Company 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.