Zacks Investment Management Takes $7.87 Million Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 35,663 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,873,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 86.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,538 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,114,000 after acquiring an additional 15,092 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 462,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $101,034,000 after buying an additional 4,673 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in Avery Dennison by 204.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 2,836 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $312,772,000 after acquiring an additional 90,250 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded Avery Dennison from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,467,956. This represents a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of AVY stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, hitting $202.50. 594,624 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $190.04 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.18. The firm has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

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.