Federated Hermes Inc. Has $2.62 Million Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,819 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Avient worth $2,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Avient by 44.9% during the third 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 during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Up 1.9 %

AVNT opened at $31.12 on Monday. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.01.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.60.

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.