Northern Trust Corp Buys 143,066 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,197,070 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 143,066 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.31% of Avient worth $48,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Avient by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.83. The stock had a trading volume of 131,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,030. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.72.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.80.

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.