Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $244.96.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY opened at $205.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.98. Avery Dennison has a fifty-two week low of $190.04 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVY. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 100.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth $36,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.