Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.96 Million Holdings in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,808 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,188 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.06% of Avient worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Avient by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Avient by 2.5% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Avient by 20.1% during 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 grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $34.18. The stock had a trading volume of 893,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,490. The business's 50-day moving average price is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.68. 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 fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Avient's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Avient's payout ratio is 100.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.