KBC Group NV Has $3.63 Million Holdings in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)

KBC Group NV grew its position in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,420 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,643,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 19,370.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428,730 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,301,000 after buying an additional 426,528 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth $51,521,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,185,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $409,014,000 after buying an additional 250,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Avery Dennison by 1,305.6% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 264,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,065,000 after acquiring an additional 245,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Avery Dennison from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.60.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AVY traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.24. 339,849 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 651,493. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.04. Avery Dennison Corporation has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $233.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Avery Dennison's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Avery Dennison Corporation will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid 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 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.32%.

Avery Dennison 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.