Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 394,565 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,908 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Avient worth $16,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 56.2% in the 4th 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. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Avient by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.60.

Avient Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of AVNT stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.96. 124,901 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,914. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $36.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.63. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

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.