Townsquare Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,528 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management raised 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AVY. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial restated 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $169.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $178.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12 month low of $157.00 and a 12 month high of $233.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. 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.