Legal & General Group Plc Sells 149,151 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 455,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 149,151 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.57% of Avery Dennison worth $85,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new stake in Avery Dennison during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 18.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 price target (down from $218.00) on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Avery Dennison from $228.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $226.00 target price on Avery Dennison in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Avery Dennison from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.87.

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Avery Dennison Stock Performance

Avery Dennison stock traded down $2.72 on Tuesday, reaching $169.57. 881,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,477. The stock has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $178.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.27. Avery Dennison Co. has a twelve month low of $157.00 and a twelve month high of $233.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Avery Dennison's payout ratio is 40.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $2,358,412.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 303,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,160,742.35. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.