Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Avery Dennison by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 384.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE AVY opened at $175.21 on Wednesday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $157.00 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.52.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.47.

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.