Raymond James & Associates Grows Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,967 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $58,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Avery Dennison news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total value of $1,074,202.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Avery Dennison stock traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $221.55. The company had a trading volume of 319,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,654. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.70. The company has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $158.93 and a 1 year high of $225.26.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 32.59% and a net margin of 6.56%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.27 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is presently 47.30%.

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.