Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,643,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,521,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 157,754 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 21.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 134,560 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 812,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,985,000 after buying an additional 112,650 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AVY shares. 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. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $170.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.82 and a 200-day moving average of $195.27. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $168.77 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

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.