T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 150,572 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,225,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150,572 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Avery Dennison worth $790,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,681,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,811,738,000 after purchasing an additional 33,149 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $392,445,000 after buying an additional 13,815 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,643,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Avery Dennison by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 926,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $173,385,000 after buying an additional 66,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 860,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,085,000 after acquiring an additional 43,270 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVY. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.47.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of AVY opened at $175.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $157.00 and a 52 week high of $233.48. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.15 and a 200-day moving average of $190.52.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.37%.

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.