100,000 Shares in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Purchased by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,158,000. River Global Investors LLP owned about 0.11% of Avient at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Avient by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 52,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Avient by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Avient by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Avient by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Avient by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 113,653 shares of the company's stock worth $4,725,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 305,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,661. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.27. Avient Co. has a one year low of $27.73 and a one year high of $44.93.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.87 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.257 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.10%.

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.