Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,237 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Avery Dennison worth $34,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.0% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in Avery Dennison by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. The trade was a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.15.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $179.91 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.33. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $178.72 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

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.