Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 102,432.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,947,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945,184 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at about $153,787,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 55.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,673,000 after purchasing an additional 639,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Avery Dennison by 48.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,748,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,099,000 after acquiring an additional 566,938 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Avery Dennison stock traded up $0.43 on Thursday, hitting $209.35. 305,456 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,407. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $214.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $158.93 and a 52 week high of $225.26. The company has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.90.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total transaction of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,878,414.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Avery Dennison news, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total value of $1,074,202.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,940.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total transaction of $1,775,396.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at $69,878,414.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AVY. UBS Group lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $199.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $185.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.00.

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.