New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Position in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 899,948 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,011 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.98% of Avient worth $33,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Avient by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Avient by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,007 shares of the company's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 1.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,571 shares of the company's stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 20.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 57.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE AVNT traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $33.19. 899,884 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.05. The business's fifty day moving average is $35.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.54. Avient Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Avient's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Avient's payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient 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.