Palisade Capital Management LP Sells 18,293 Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

Palisade Capital Management LP cut its holdings in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,108,414 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,293 shares during the quarter. Avient comprises 1.2% of Palisade Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Palisade Capital Management LP owned approximately 1.21% of Avient worth $41,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Avient by 40.4% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 52,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 15,188 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,513,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27,608 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Avient by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Avient by 15.8% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 340,233 shares of the company's stock worth $12,643,000 after purchasing an additional 46,342 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

Avient Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.43. 321,800 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,329. Avient Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Avient's payout ratio 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.