Stephens Inc. AR Sells 207 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Avery Dennison by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Avery Dennison by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.15.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

AVY opened at $181.76 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $178.72 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.79. The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. On average, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This represents 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 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.