Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 295,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,159 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $65,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,271,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 553.5% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 250,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,581,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 27.7% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $192.92 on Tuesday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $192.82 and a 12-month high of $233.48. The company has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $206.51 and a 200 day moving average of $214.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 42.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $252.00 to $247.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.96.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.