Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Purchased by Point72 Asset Management L.P.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 250.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,610 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 380,657 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.58% of Avient worth $21,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Avient by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company's stock worth $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 119,229 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Avient by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,133 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Avient by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVNT shares. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

Avient Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AVNT traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.74. The company had a trading volume of 88,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,497. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.93%.

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.