Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $494,000 in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.27. 423,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 552,082. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.80.

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.