Gotham Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,703 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,877 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Avient worth $2,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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 assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.80.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $37.43. 292,830 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,266. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. 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.