Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,332,275 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 165,322 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 1.46% of Avient worth $54,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Choreo LLC boosted 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 worth $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

Avient Trading Up 0.3%

Avient stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $36.13. The company had a trading volume of 421,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,025. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $35.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Avient's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.93%.

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.