Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY)

Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 8,480 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 3,278% compared to the average daily volume of 251 put options.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.6 %

AVY opened at $190.52 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison has a 52 week low of $181.99 and a 52 week high of $233.48.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $258.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,956. The trade was a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avery Dennison

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Avery Dennison by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,772,000 after purchasing an additional 90,250 shares during the period. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Avery Dennison by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Avery Dennison by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $172,254,000 after purchasing an additional 32,467 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Avery Dennison by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 699,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.