Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,612 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.34% of Avery Dennison worth $51,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the third quarter worth $381,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 766 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 17.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,953 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 384.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,203 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Avery Dennison by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.80.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE AVY traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $170.06. The company had a trading volume of 129,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,622. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $157.00 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $176.49 and a 200-day moving average of $189.44.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.