Allstate Corp Purchases New Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVY. DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 15,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 51,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,724,000 after acquiring an additional 6,707 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at $188,643,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $180.55 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $173.02 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $182.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.37%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

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.