Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Bought by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 485.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 35,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,715,000 after purchasing an additional 29,541 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at $4,263,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 12.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 420,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,771,000 after acquiring an additional 46,390 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth about $6,701,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 1.3 %

AVY opened at $175.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.43. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $173.02 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price target on Avery Dennison in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.