Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,318 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $12,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVY. Spire Wealth Management grew 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 184,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,478,000 after acquiring an additional 7,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,379,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $179.95 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.34. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $157.00 and a 1 year high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. Avery Dennison’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVY. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Argus cut shares of Avery Dennison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.60.

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.