Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 617,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $136,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 28.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,297,000 after buying an additional 17,158 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,668,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.5% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 23,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,048,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.96.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. The trade was a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $188.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $203.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.13. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $185.73 and a 12 month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

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.