KBC Group NV Sells 943 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 943 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the first quarter worth about $205,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison in the 1st quarter worth $320,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 447.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group downgraded Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.96.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $197.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Avery Dennison Co. has a 12-month low of $186.66 and a 12-month high of $233.48.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.01. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Avery Dennison’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.21, for a total transaction of $2,142,100.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $65,144,259.94. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% 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.