Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $41.05 Million Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,004,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,291 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Avient were worth $41,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 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 decreased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.80.

Avient Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $30.44 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.01 and its 200 day moving average is $44.90. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $28.96 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

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.