Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $56.26 Million Stock Position in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. increased its stake in Avient to 1,800,903 shares (about 1.97% of the company), valuing the position at $56.26 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 95.48% of Avient.
• Analysts are mixed: Avient carries a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $47.00 average price target, though several firms (Oppenheimer, Wells Fargo, Wall Street Zen) have recently raised targets or issued upgrades.
• Avient slightly beat Q4 estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 2.93–3.17 (consensus ~2.85), has a $3.48 billion market cap and a PE of 42.6, and pays a $1.10 annual dividend (2.9% yield) despite a high payout ratio of 123.6%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,800,903 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 70,978 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.97% of Avient worth $56,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Avient by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,753,848 shares of the company's stock worth $156,637,000 after acquiring an additional 62,926 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its position in Avient by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company's stock worth $69,057,000 after acquiring an additional 335,670 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Avient by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,723 shares of the company's stock worth $52,447,000 after acquiring an additional 121,272 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Avient by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,569,226 shares of the company's stock worth $51,706,000 after acquiring an additional 9,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Avient by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,352,124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,552,000 after acquiring an additional 30,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVNT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 price objective on Avient in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Avient Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE AVNT opened at $37.92 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.11. Avient Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.48 and a 12 month high of $44.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 42.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 2.51%.The firm had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Avient's payout ratio is 123.60%.

Avient Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.