Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 13,426 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 218,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,426 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $44,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 164.4% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. 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. StockNews.com raised Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avery Dennison news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares in the company, valued at $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $218.39. The stock had a trading volume of 437,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,401. The company has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.58. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $158.93 and a 1 year high of $225.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.30%.

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.