Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

AVY has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $209.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.10.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 2.7%

Avery Dennison stock opened at $187.15 on Friday. Avery Dennison has a one year low of $152.42 and a one year high of $199.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.31 and a 200 day moving average of $172.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.79.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 34.60% and a net margin of 7.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.29%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,886 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total transaction of $663,262.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,216,265.68. The trade was a 35.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avery Dennison

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVY. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 2nd quarter worth $1,052,464,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the third quarter valued at approximately $341,344,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Avery Dennison by 2,376.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 984,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,106,000 after purchasing an additional 945,195 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the second quarter valued at approximately $142,169,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $118,728,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

About Avery Dennison

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) is a global materials science and manufacturing company that develops and produces labeling, packaging, graphic, and functional materials. Its products are used by businesses across industries including consumer goods, retail, logistics, apparel, automotive, healthcare, and industrial manufacturing.

The company’s offerings include pressure-sensitive labels and label materials, adhesives, industrial and specialty tapes, graphic films, and packaging materials.