Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVY. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avery Dennison by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Down 2.1%

AVY stock opened at $180.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Avery Dennison Co. has a 52-week low of $157.00 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $173.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.02). Avery Dennison had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 33.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. This is a boost from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Avery Dennison’s dividend payout ratio is 43.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avery Dennison

In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 12,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AVY. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $208.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Avery Dennison in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avery Dennison currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.60.

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.