Cypress Capital Group Reduces Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Cypress Capital Group trimmed its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 3.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Avery Dennison by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after buying an additional 35,538 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $175,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $172,254,000 after acquiring an additional 32,467 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Avery Dennison by 2.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,297,000 after buying an additional 17,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,333,345.68. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $197.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $211.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $187.93 and a 52 week high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVY shares. Bank of America upgraded Avery Dennison from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $207.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.96.

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.