Holderness Investments Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Holderness Investments Co. lowered its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 963 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVY. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at $479,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,319,000 after acquiring an additional 16,782 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 36,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 926,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $173,385,000 after acquiring an additional 66,216 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $176.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $184.80 and its 200-day moving average is $198.52. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $174.91 and a 12 month high of $233.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.