abrdn plc Raises Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

abrdn plc raised its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 36.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,959 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $10,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 55.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,673,000 after purchasing an additional 639,521 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,670,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,857,000 after purchasing an additional 493,857 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 43.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,007,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,026,000 after purchasing an additional 307,325 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 27.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 958,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $175,142,000 after purchasing an additional 206,784 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares in the company, valued at $606,383.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total transaction of $1,069,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,305,217.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,843 shares in the company, valued at $606,383.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVY. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.60.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 2.2 %

Avery Dennison stock opened at $217.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.90. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.93 and a fifty-two week high of $225.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $215.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.13.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 30.97% and a net margin of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

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.