Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,260 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,065 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Avient were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $37.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 509,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,300. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Avient's payout ratio is 100.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

Avient Company 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.