Citigroup Raises Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) Price Target to $241.00

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $230.00 to $241.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AVY. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James restated an outperform rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $237.15.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $216.44 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $224.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.88. Avery Dennison has a 52 week low of $165.21 and a 52 week high of $231.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avery Dennison will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other news, SVP Deena Baker-Nel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $684,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,824.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 2,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.70, for a total value of $500,100.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,489.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deena Baker-Nel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.17, for a total transaction of $684,510.00. Following the completion of 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 worth $2,856,353 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 936.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.