Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock 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 grew its holdings in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,348,157 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 279,064 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.75% of Avient worth $161,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AVNT. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Avient by 85.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Avient by 2,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,479 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Avient in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVNT. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $37.70. 901,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,490. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Avient Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

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

Avient 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.