Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 7,013 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 1.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 696,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,013 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $152,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth about $185,292,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth about $102,117,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Avery Dennison by 1,429.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 262,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,107,000 after purchasing an additional 245,520 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth about $44,837,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Avery Dennison by 2,707.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,939,000 after purchasing an additional 190,525 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AVY shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.60 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.96.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.75, for a total transaction of $2,137,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,004,367.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.75, for a total transaction of $2,137,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,004,367.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,545,087 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $220.20 on Wednesday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $165.21 and a 1 year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.92.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

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

About Avery Dennison

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.