Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 497,247 Shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY - Free Report) by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 497,247 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.10% of Avery Dennison worth $18,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison during the 1st quarter worth $102,117,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,837,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 795.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 160,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,190,000 after buying an additional 142,348 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 216,135 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,258,000 after buying an additional 138,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Avery Dennison by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 240,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $52,497,000 after buying an additional 81,993 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 0.4 %

AVY traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $206.19. The company had a trading volume of 389,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,778. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $175.10 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Avery Dennison had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 7.76%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avery Dennison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Avery Dennison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Avery Dennison from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $253.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $274.60 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Avery Dennison from $241.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut Avery Dennison from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $262.00 to $235.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Avery Dennison presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.76, for a total value of $617,280.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,574,496.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Avery Dennison news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 3,000 shares of Avery Dennison stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.76, for a total value of $617,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 304,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,574,496.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.91, for a total value of $2,119,100.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 304,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,444,797.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,108 shares of company stock worth $10,407,587. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.