Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Position in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Avient Corporation by 6.2%, selling 93,023 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 1,404,562 shares valued at approximately $52.2 million.
• Analyst ratings for Avient indicate mixed sentiments, with target prices being adjusted downwards by Morgan Stanley and Robert W. Baird, while Wells Fargo raised its target price, resulting in an average price target of $45.60.
• Avient announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, set to be paid on October 8, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 84.38%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC decreased its holdings in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,404,562 shares of the company's stock after selling 93,023 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 1.53% of Avient worth $52,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT traded down $0.5650 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.4350. The stock had a trading volume of 454,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 778,436. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.87 and a 200 day moving average of $36.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.03.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.