Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 564,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,746 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $23,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Avient by 4.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after acquiring an additional 63,138 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 288.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 19,401 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Avient by 22.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,489 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 48.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,554,000 after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.25. 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 $37.63 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.