Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Short Interest Down 19.8% in February

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a decline of 19.8% from the January 31st total of 1,920,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 659,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Avery Dennison from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $183.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,195,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,032. The stock has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $186.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Avery Dennison has a 12 month low of $178.72 and a 12 month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is 40.37%.

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.