Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, a growth of 16.8% from the May 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 431,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $218.65 on Monday. 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 has a 1-year low of $163.83 and a 1-year high of $231.53. The firm has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.63.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. Equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avery Dennison news, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of Avery Dennison 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,326,230.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.31, for a total transaction of $129,245.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,939.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gregory Lovins sold 2,894 shares of Avery Dennison 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,326,230.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $2,856,353. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avery Dennison

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVY. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 0.8% in the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Condor Capital Management raised its position in Avery Dennison by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 13,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.