Arizona State Retirement System Has $4.38 Million Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $4,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Avery Dennison by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Avery Dennison by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVY. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.8 %

Avery Dennison stock opened at $183.94 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.82. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $178.72 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.37%.

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.