TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 87.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400,776 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 58.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Avient by 44.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Avient in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Avient by 185.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 21.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE AVNT opened at $43.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.14 and its 200-day moving average is $46.32. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVNT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.