Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 3,451 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 321,802 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,451 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Avient were worth $13,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avient by 185.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 21.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $43.45 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.51. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVNT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Avient Company 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.