National Pension Service Sells 3,132 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

National Pension Service cut its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,132 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $22,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.4% in 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 during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

AVY stock opened at $188.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $186.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.83. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $178.72 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:AVY) last announced 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 return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. 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.