Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Short Interest Update

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 1,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 542,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AVY shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.15.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Avery Dennison by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avery Dennison by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth $1,461,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded down $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $182.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 48,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,600. The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.21 and a 200-day moving average of $205.88. Avery Dennison has a 12 month low of $179.20 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is 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.