Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVY. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 8.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $143,078,000 after buying an additional 134,560 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,772,000 after buying an additional 90,250 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 2,629.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,278,000 after buying an additional 88,491 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 146,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,476,000 after acquiring an additional 84,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AVY shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVY opened at $188.07 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $178.72 and a 1-year high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.37%.

Avery Dennison Company 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.