Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Lowers Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its position in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,324 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.1% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,326,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,050,000 after buying an additional 27,771 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 3.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,019,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,660,000 after buying an additional 35,538 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison in the fourth quarter worth about $185,292,000. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 760,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,804,000 after buying an additional 102,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,297,000 after buying an additional 17,158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AVY opened at $219.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.66 and a 200-day moving average of $218.87. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52 week low of $165.21 and a 52 week high of $233.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.44% and a net margin of 7.34%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AVY shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Avery Dennison from $256.00 to $254.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Avery Dennison in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,719,936.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 7,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.12, for a total transaction of $1,550,396.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,333,345.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total value of $608,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,719,936.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,545,087 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.