Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,439 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,728 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Avient worth $10,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Avient in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Avient by 185.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $40.17 on Thursday. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.97.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks.