Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,521,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 52,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,582,000 after purchasing an additional 13,959 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $219.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.36. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $158.93 and a 1-year high of $225.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total value of $1,069,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,305,217.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total value of $1,069,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,305,217.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

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.