Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 332,092 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,971,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 332,092 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.45% of Avery Dennison worth $398,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Avery Dennison by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,670,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,857,000 after purchasing an additional 493,857 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 55.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,788,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,673,000 after acquiring an additional 639,521 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 5.5% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,096,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,302,000 after acquiring an additional 57,106 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 43.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,007,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,026,000 after purchasing an additional 307,325 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AVY traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, reaching $218.01. The stock had a trading volume of 121,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,368. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.07. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $158.93 and a 12-month high of $225.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is presently 47.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVY. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.00.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,383.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 in the company, valued at $606,383.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total transaction of $1,069,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,305,217.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.