Natixis Sells 95,082 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Natixis trimmed its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 87.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 95,082 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVY shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.80.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $3.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.48. 694,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,280. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $176.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.80. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $233.48. The company has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is 40.37%.

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.