Short Interest in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Decreases By 8.0%

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the October 31st total of 2,000,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 532,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $206.14. 480,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Avery Dennison has a 1-year low of $190.04 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.98. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AVY. StockNews.com cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $207.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.96.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Avery Dennison

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVY. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.2% during 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 buying an additional 157,754 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% during the third quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $175,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $172,254,000 after purchasing an additional 32,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,431,000 after acquiring an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. 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.