First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.92 Million Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,675 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.05% of Avient worth $1,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,626,000 after purchasing an additional 111,489 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth about $8,344,000. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Avient by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,942 shares of the company's stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 42,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,675,000 after acquiring an additional 797,112 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.53 on Friday, reaching $36.80. The stock had a trading volume of 483,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The business's 50-day moving average price is $35.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. 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 upped their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.25.

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.