West Oak Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 131.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVY. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 100.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.5 %

AVY traded down $2.88 on Friday, reaching $184.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 431,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,744. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $181.99 and a 1 year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.05 and its 200 day moving average is $209.30.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Avery Dennison’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $757,874.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This trade represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Avery Dennison from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $258.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.05.

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.