Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 174.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,643 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $3,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 position in shares of Avient in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avient in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.80.

Avient Trading Up 0.9 %

AVNT opened at $40.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG 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. Avient Co. has a one year low of $37.63 and a one year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 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.