Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Stake Boosted by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Avery Dennison worth $11,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at $188,643,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,521,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,185,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $409,014,000 after purchasing an additional 250,359 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Avery Dennison in the 4th quarter worth about $40,354,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 632,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $118,404,000 after purchasing an additional 172,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AVY opened at $171.86 on Thursday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $157.00 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $174.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.23.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is currently 43.32%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 303,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVY. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.80.

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.

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