Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 worth $6,715,000 after purchasing an additional 29,541 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 553.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,263,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 46,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $186.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.84 and a 200 day moving average of $202.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $178.72 and a 52 week high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 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 predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AVY. UBS Group cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

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.