Smith Moore & CO. Boosts Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 76.0% in the fourth 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. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVY shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. 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. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (down previously from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $170.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $168.77 and a 1 year high of $233.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. Analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares in the company, valued at $58,891,897. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avery Dennison Company 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.