Sapient Capital LLC Invests $209,000 in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after buying an additional 1,163,264 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake 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 worth $326,673,000 after acquiring an additional 639,521 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.7% during the third 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. Boston Partners raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,007,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $184,026,000 after purchasing an additional 307,325 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 958,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,142,000 after purchasing an additional 206,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total value of $298,606.00. Following 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction 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 $606,383.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,568 shares of company stock valued at $3,143,502. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY opened at $223.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $216.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.53. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.93 and a fifty-two week 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.30%.

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.