Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,497,585 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,777 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 1.64% of Avient worth $61,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Barclays PLC raised its position in Avient by 221.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 119,229 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Avient during the 3rd quarter valued at $304,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Avient by 15.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,592 shares of the company's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Avient by 22.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company's stock worth $30,626,000 after buying an additional 111,489 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Avient by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE AVNT traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $33.56. 151,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 538,084. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $36.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.57. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.