Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,111 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,350 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Avient worth $4,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 288.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 19,401 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 221.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,706,000 after acquiring an additional 119,229 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company's stock worth $109,431,000 after purchasing an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the third quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.60.

Avient Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded down $0.38 on Monday, reaching $30.82. 400,937 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 540,885. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $37.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.24. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. 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.