Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVY. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth about $51,521,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 8.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Avery Dennison by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,078,000 after purchasing an additional 134,560 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Avery Dennison by 411.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 123,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,084,000 after purchasing an additional 99,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 2,629.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,278,000 after purchasing an additional 88,491 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE AVY opened at $174.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $173.02 and a one year high of $233.48. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.