Avery Dennison Corporation $AVY Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Position

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY) by 97.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 172,380 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVY. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.6% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 2,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Avery Dennison by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Avery Dennison by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Avery Dennison stock opened at $186.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. Avery Dennison Corporation has a 52-week low of $152.42 and a 52-week high of $199.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.10. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 7.56% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Corporation will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.29%.

Insider Activity at Avery Dennison

In related news, Director Andres Alberto Lopez sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.80, for a total transaction of $775,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,288.60. This represents a 77.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,886 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total value of $663,262.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,216,265.68. The trade was a 35.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Avery Dennison from $186.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Avery Dennison from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.10.

Avery Dennison Profile

Avery Dennison is a global materials science and digital identification solutions company. Its products include pressure-sensitive labels and adhesives, packaging materials, and graphic films used in applications such as product labeling, vehicle graphics, and building signage.

The company also develops technologies that help businesses identify and track products, including RFID inlays and tags, which can support inventory management and supply-chain visibility. Its solutions serve customers across industries such as apparel, food and beverage, logistics, healthcare, and retail.

Founded in 1935 by R.