Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Acquired by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 97.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,894 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,811 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Avient were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avient during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT opened at $38.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.36. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.49 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.82%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AVNT. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.80.

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.