First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Avient stake by 45.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 103,912 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.48% of AVNT.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $45.71, compared with the stock’s opening price of $37.90.
• Avient exceeded first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $0.83 in EPS and $847.4 million in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, or a 2.9% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 45.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,912 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,354 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of Avient worth $3,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Avient by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,973,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,546,000 after purchasing an additional 192,788 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 96.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,254 shares of the company's stock worth $51,229,000 after buying an additional 691,316 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Avient by 11.6% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 171,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,235,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avient by 3.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,787 shares of the company's stock worth $7,470,000 after acquiring an additional 7,431 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.71.

Avient Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Avient stock opened at $37.90 on Thursday. Avient Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.48 and a 1 year high of $44.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.56 and a 200 day moving average of $36.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The business had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Avient's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

About Avient

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.

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