Avient Corporation $AVNT Shares Acquired by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 44.7%, purchasing 397,787 shares to hold 1,288,463 shares (about 1.41% ownership) valued at roughly $40.25 million at quarter-end.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — two Buy and five Hold ratings leave a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $47.00, while Oppenheimer raised its target to $41 and Wall Street Zen upgraded to Buy.
• Avient slightly beat Q4 estimates (EPS $0.56 vs. $0.55; revenue $760.6M vs. $750.2M), provided FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.93–$3.17, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (annualized yield ~2.9%).

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,288,463 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 397,787 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 1.41% of Avient worth $40,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Avient by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,753,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,637,000 after purchasing an additional 62,926 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Avient by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company's stock worth $69,057,000 after acquiring an additional 335,670 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Avient by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,800,903 shares of the company's stock worth $56,260,000 after acquiring an additional 70,978 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,723 shares of the company's stock worth $52,447,000 after acquiring an additional 121,272 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Avient by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,569,226 shares of the company's stock worth $51,706,000 after acquiring an additional 9,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 price objective on Avient in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Avient Stock Up 0.1%

AVNT opened at $38.26 on Monday. Avient Corporation has a one year low of $27.48 and a one year high of $44.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.85 and its 200-day moving average is $34.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.40.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.19 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 2.51%.Avient's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Avient's payout ratio is 123.60%.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation NYSE: AVNT is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company's core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne's specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVNT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.