Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,841,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,435 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $344,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVY. Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $172.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.38. 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 current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is 43.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Avery Dennison from $226.00 to $216.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target 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, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.60.

Insider Transactions at Avery Dennison

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,068 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 $58,891,897. The trade was a 2.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.