UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 447.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at $1,213,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 181,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,675,000 after buying an additional 63,716 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in Avery Dennison by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avery Dennison by 133.4% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY traded down $5.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $214.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 897,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,613. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $223.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.83. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $165.21 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.20, for a total transaction of $657,516.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.20, for a total transaction of $657,516.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deena Baker-Nel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $684,510.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,824.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $2,856,353. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVY shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.51.

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.