BNP Paribas Financial Markets Makes New $872,000 Investment in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $872,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Avient by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Avient by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.89. 20,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,524. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.90. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. 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. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

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.