204,196 Shares in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 204,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,344,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Avient at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Avient by 56.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Avient by 47.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in Avient by 23.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird began 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.60.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.23. 518,202 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 539,823. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.70. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. On average, analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders 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 3.25%. Avient's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

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.