Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) Shares Sold by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Avery Dennison by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,681,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,811,738,000 after buying an additional 33,149 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $392,445,000 after acquiring an additional 13,815 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter valued at $188,643,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 926,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $173,385,000 after purchasing an additional 66,216 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 812,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,985,000 after purchasing an additional 112,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 3.4 %

AVY opened at $170.30 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $168.77 and a one year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.27.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 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%. Analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVY. Bank of America decreased their price objective on 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 target on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avery Dennison currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avery Dennison 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.