HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,132 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVY. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,521,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $459,621,000 after acquiring an additional 157,754 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,078,000 after acquiring an additional 134,560 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 411.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 123,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,084,000 after acquiring an additional 99,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2,629.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,278,000 after acquiring an additional 88,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $174.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $173.02 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.