Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 4,159.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,163,264 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 1.48% of Avery Dennison worth $240,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at $2,715,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 192.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 7,047 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 736.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 142,766 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,080,000 after purchasing an additional 125,691 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 271,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $199.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avery Dennison news, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total transaction of $1,775,396.48. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan D. Yost sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.29, for a total transaction of $298,606.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,383.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AVY stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $215.00. 301,480 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,538. The stock has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $213.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.00. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $158.93 and a 52-week high of $225.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

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.