Trillium Asset Management LLC Takes $14.63 Million Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 65,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,634,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Avery Dennison at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Dfpg Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Avery Dennison by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 6,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AVY shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $260.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.15.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of AVY traded down $3.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $219.99. 364,873 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,472. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $223.86 and a 200-day moving average of $215.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $165.21 and a one year high of $231.53. The firm has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deena Baker-Nel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $684,510.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,824.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deena Baker-Nel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $684,510.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,824.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,583 shares of company stock valued at $2,856,353 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.