Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 2,090.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,884 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 7,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus lowered Avery Dennison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AVY stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $178.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 752,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,530. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $233.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Avery Dennison's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm'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 value 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. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.