Avery Dennison Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AVY)

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 8,480 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 3,278% compared to the typical volume of 251 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVY. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $258.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.05.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY opened at $191.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.36 and a 200 day moving average of $208.06. 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 has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison has a 12-month low of $181.99 and a 12-month 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avery Dennison

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 100.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth $36,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth $39,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% 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.