Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 55,810 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,810 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $63,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVY. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 39,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Avery Dennison by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 77,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,016,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.2% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 159,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 11.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.2 %

AVY stock opened at $185.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $178.72 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.59. The company has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 40.37%.

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.