Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 2,394 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 485.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 35,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,715,000 after purchasing an additional 29,541 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,263,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 420,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,771,000 after acquiring an additional 46,390 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,701,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.9 %

AVY opened at $175.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.31. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $173.02 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AVY. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Company 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.