State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $8.33 Million Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.05% of Avery Dennison worth $8,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $2,715,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 133.4% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,320,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 4,159.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,191,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,264 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 192.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 7,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 736.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 142,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,080,000 after buying an additional 125,691 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AVY traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $219.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 556,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,945. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Avery Dennison Co. has a one year low of $158.93 and a one year high of $225.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.13.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $223.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.00.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total value of $1,069,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,217.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Ignacio J. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.90, for a total value of $1,069,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,217.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total transaction of $1,775,396.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at $69,878,414.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock worth $4,217,705 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.