The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 939,601 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,180 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 1.03% of Avient worth $38,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Avient by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.60.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.87. The company had a trading volume of 270,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,560. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. 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 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

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.