Avery Dennison Corporation $AVY Position Lessened by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Avery Dennison stake by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 66,017 shares and leaving it with 378,803 shares worth about $68.9 million.
• Avery Dennison reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.47 versus $2.41 expected and revenue of $2.30 billion versus $2.26 billion forecast, while revenue rose 7% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $1.00 per share quarterly, or $4.00 annualized, yielding about 2.5%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $204.11.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 378,803 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 66,017 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.49% of Avery Dennison worth $68,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVY. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 16,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 285.7% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitchell R. Butier sold 13,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.50, for a total transaction of $2,229,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 198,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,982,210.50. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVY shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $222.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.11.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $159.25 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $165.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.84. Avery Dennison Corporation has a 1-year low of $152.68 and a 1-year high of $199.54.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.69% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Avery Dennison has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.430-2.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Corporation will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.39%.

Avery Dennison Company Profile

Avery Dennison NYSE: AVY is a global materials science and manufacturing company specializing in labeling and packaging solutions. The company develops pressure-sensitive materials, tags and labels, and adhesive technologies that help brands and businesses enhance product identification, branding and supply-chain performance. Avery Dennison's offerings range from industrial and retail labeling to high-performance tapes, films and graphics materials used across multiple end markets.

The company operates through several key segments, including Label and Graphic Materials, which supplies pressure-sensitive materials for consumer goods; Retail Branding and Information Solutions, offering apparel tags, RFID inlays and digital product identification; Pressure-Sensitive Materials, providing specialty tapes and adhesives; and RF Technologies, focused on advanced RFID and IoT labeling solutions.

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