Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,078,000 after purchasing an additional 134,560 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,772,000 after purchasing an additional 90,250 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 2,629.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,278,000 after purchasing an additional 88,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 146,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,476,000 after purchasing an additional 84,501 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE AVY opened at $188.07 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $178.72 and a one year high of $233.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $186.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

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.