Palisade Capital Management LP Lowers Stock Position in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

Palisade Capital Management LP decreased its position in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,108,414 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,293 shares during the period. Avient comprises 1.2% of Palisade Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Palisade Capital Management LP owned 1.21% of Avient worth $41,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,313,859 shares of the company's stock worth $421,424,000 after purchasing an additional 79,661 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,069,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,259,000 after purchasing an additional 90,535 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,513,732 shares of the company's stock worth $129,586,000 after buying an additional 27,608 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Avient by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company's stock worth $130,180,000 after buying an additional 276,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Avient by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock worth $59,675,000 after buying an additional 797,112 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE AVNT traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.43. 321,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 577,427. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.05. Avient Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $35.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.04.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 3.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.