Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,687 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Avient worth $1,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Avient by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Avient by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avient by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

Avient Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AVNT traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.43. The stock had a trading volume of 292,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,266. 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 has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The stock's 50 day moving average is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during 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%. Avient's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.93%.

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.