Ascent Capital Management LLC Takes $286,000 Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Ascent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 485.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 35,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,715,000 after buying an additional 29,541 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 553.5% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,263,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 420,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,771,000 after purchasing an additional 46,390 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,701,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $178.91 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $174.91 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $199.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AVY shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective 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 dropped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.