Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $178.12 and last traded at $179.14, with a volume of 18659 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AVY. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $185.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.38.

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Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 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, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is 40.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,681,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,811,738,000 after buying an additional 33,149 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,225,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $790,683,000 after buying an additional 150,572 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,185,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $409,014,000 after purchasing an additional 250,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $392,445,000 after purchasing an additional 13,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,841,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $344,603,000 after purchasing an additional 71,435 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

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.