National Pension Service Trims Stake in Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY) by 96.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 116,351 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the first quarter valued at $27,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 195.7% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AVY shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Argus cut Avery Dennison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avery Dennison from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.60.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 1.7%

AVY opened at $174.72 on Friday. Avery Dennison Corporation has a 52 week low of $157.00 and a 52 week high of $224.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 8.14%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Corporation will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

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.