Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has increased its stake in Avient Corporation by 6.9%, now owning approximately 4.75% of the company valued at $161.6 million.
• Despite some analysts lowering their price objectives, Avient maintains an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $45.60.
• Avient recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,348,157 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 279,064 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.75% of Avient worth $161,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Avient in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,471,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Avient by 77.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its stake in shares of Avient by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 9,162 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avient by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 40,801 shares of the company's stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 6,321 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Up 6.1%

Avient stock traded up $2.1390 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.4890. 608,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,927. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.19. Avient Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.98 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Avient's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Avient has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.700 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 84.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.60.

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.