Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $991,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,715,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 133.4% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,040 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $240,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,264 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position 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 valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 7,047 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $26,080,000 after acquiring an additional 125,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY traded up $4.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $217.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 672,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,686. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.93 and a fifty-two week high of $225.26. The company has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $215.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.01.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 30.97% and a net margin of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total value of $1,074,202.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,018 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,940.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total value of $1,074,202.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVY shares. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America lowered Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Avery Dennison from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine 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 target price of $223.60.

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.