Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 7,946 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $6,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased 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 acquired a new position in Avient during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $36.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.31. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $36.68 and a 12 month high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVNT. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. 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 dropped their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.80.

About Avient

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.