Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 300 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 926,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $173,385,000 after acquiring an additional 66,216 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,078,000 after acquiring an additional 134,560 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,431,000 after acquiring an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,821,000 after purchasing an additional 10,674 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVY. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

AVY opened at $174.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.90. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $173.02 and a twelve month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s 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.