Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Bought by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,643,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,521,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,088,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $459,621,000 after purchasing an additional 157,754 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $143,078,000 after purchasing an additional 134,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 411.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 123,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,084,000 after purchasing an additional 99,232 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price target on Avery Dennison in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $235.00 to $207.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.19, for a total transaction of $1,502,180.92. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 316,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,891,897. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of AVY opened at $178.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.14. The stock has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $173.02 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was 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.