Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Acquired by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 62,982 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,995 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Avient by 44.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Avient during the third quarter worth $60,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Avient by 185.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Avient stock opened at $41.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.63 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 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, analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Avient 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.