Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $77,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,326,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,050,000 after buying an additional 27,771 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after buying an additional 35,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,292,000. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 760,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,804,000 after buying an additional 102,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 736,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,933,000 after buying an additional 31,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,719,936.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total value of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,719,936.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,545,087. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $219.42 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $165.21 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $215.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.44% and a net margin of 7.34%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. Avery Dennison’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Avery Dennison from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group cut Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.96.

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.