Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New $3.80 Million Investment in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVY. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,256,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 48.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,748,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,099,000 after acquiring an additional 566,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 7.3% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,398,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,681,000 after purchasing an additional 437,559 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 105.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 737,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,317,000 after purchasing an additional 377,885 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 907,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,675,000 after purchasing an additional 363,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anthony Anderson sold 816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.99, for a total transaction of $150,135.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,666.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Anthony Anderson sold 816 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.99, for a total value of $150,135.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,666.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.43, for a total transaction of $693,212.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,470.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,948. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Avery Dennison from $204.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $229.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $183.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Avery Dennison from $240.00 to $233.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.10.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

NYSE:AVY opened at $166.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.52 and a 200 day moving average of $180.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1-year low of $151.62 and a 1-year high of $204.37.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.45). Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 38.05% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is 32.57%.

About Avery Dennison

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Avery Dennison Corp. engages in the provision of labeling and packaging materials and solutions. It operates through the Materials and Solutions Group segments. The Materials Group segment manufactures and sells pressure-sensitive label materials, films for graphic and reflective products, performance tapes and other adhesive products for industrial, medical and other applications, as well as fastener solutions.