Running Oak Capital LLC Increases Position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY)

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Avery Dennison Co. (NYSE:AVY) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,762 shares during the period. Avery Dennison comprises 1.8% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Running Oak Capital LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Avery Dennison worth $9,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new position in shares of Avery Dennison during the third quarter worth $4,019,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avery Dennison by 1.5% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,627,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Avery Dennison during the third quarter valued at $239,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 29.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 249,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,500,000 after purchasing an additional 56,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Avery Dennison by 13.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,976 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avery Dennison Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Avery Dennison stock traded up $1.68 on Thursday, reaching $219.51. The stock had a trading volume of 323,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,766. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $216.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Avery Dennison Co. has a 1 year low of $158.93 and a 1 year high of $225.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.91.

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Avery Dennison had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 32.59%. Avery Dennison’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avery Dennison Co. will post 9.27 EPS for the current year.

Avery Dennison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This is an increase from Avery Dennison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Avery Dennison’s payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Avery Dennison from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $248.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Avery Dennison from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Avery Dennison from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Mitchell R. Butier sold 8,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.36, for a total value of $1,775,396.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 321,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,878,414.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Julia A. Stewart sold 5,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.26, for a total transaction of $1,074,202.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,940.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,879 shares of company stock valued at $4,217,705 in the last ninety days. 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.