Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 812,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,650 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.01% of Avery Dennison worth $151,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Centiva Capital LP increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 73.0% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 4,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter valued at $390,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 80.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 62,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,724,000 after purchasing an additional 27,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 2.8% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 32,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,278,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 3.4 %

Avery Dennison stock opened at $170.30 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $168.77 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.27. 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 $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.37%.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total value of $1,502,180.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AVY. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.