ING Groep NV Cuts Stock Holdings in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,107 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Avery Dennison were worth $3,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVY. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Avery Dennison by 19.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Avery Dennison by 2.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison in the third quarter valued at $36,550,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Avery Dennison by 28.3% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 23,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after buying an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Avery Dennison from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Avery Dennison in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.51.

Avery Dennison Price Performance

Shares of AVY opened at $184.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Avery Dennison Co. has a fifty-two week low of $178.72 and a fifty-two week high of $233.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.58. The company has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 40.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nicholas Colisto sold 3,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $757,874.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,956. This represents a 34.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.