Machina Capital S.A.S. Cuts Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Machina Capital S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 957 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 100.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised 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 acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Avery Dennison stock opened at $183.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $186.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $178.72 and a one year high of $233.48.

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 return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

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.