Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,907 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,156 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.13% of Avient worth $4,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at $653,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 104,412 shares of the company's stock worth $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 6,716 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,069,093 shares of the company's stock worth $166,259,000 after buying an additional 90,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 767,304 shares of the company's stock worth $31,352,000 after buying an additional 24,592 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.80. 483,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,170. Avient Co. has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.54 and a 200-day moving average of $41.82.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 business 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 posted $0.76 EPS. Avient's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Avient's payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.25.

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.