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

Holderness Investments Co. cut its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVY. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVY opened at $176.77 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $174.91 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $184.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.