Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Stake Lowered by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 543 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Avient by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Avient by 288.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 19,401 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Avient by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,489 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Avient by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,554,000 after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $40.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.95 and its 200-day moving average is $45.78. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

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, hitting 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 anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend 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.