Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 158 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVY. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Avery Dennison by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Avery Dennison by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Avery Dennison by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AVY shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Avery Dennison from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Avery Dennison in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 1.3 %

AVY opened at $178.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.14. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $173.02 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The company has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by ($0.01). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

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.