Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 950 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Avery Dennison in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the first quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 936.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered Avery Dennison from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $252.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $230.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.60 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.78.

Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Shares of AVY stock opened at $211.58 on Friday. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $165.21 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.80.

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

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.95, for a total transaction of $608,850.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,719,936.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.90, for a total value of $2,129,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,745,870.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $608,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at $61,719,936.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,545,087. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Avery Dennison 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.